#or it's made like Geiz is gonna turn on him or something

[firebirdsdaughter]

Okay, so...

... I watched Zi-O 17 subbed, and most of my thoughts were largely the same, so I decided to just mesh it and the 18 raw one together.

So here we go.

New Zi-O 17 thoughts:

Woz shows up in shop. Things Sougo should be asking, having now met Ouma Zi-O and been horrified by him: Why is Woz pushing him to be something he doesn’t want to be? Why is Woz okay w/ a future where half the human population is dead? Weren’t you siding w/ the Time Jackets last week? What Sougo says: Happy New Year. Okay. I might be being a little harsh bc Junichiro was in the room, but he doesn’t seem to have asked him at any point since that. I still prefer Woz to New Woz but I don’t trust him yet, and I’m still not convinced he actually cares about Sougo as a person at this point. Would love some confirmation as to whether or not Sougo’s actually falling for this ‘waga maou’ bs.

The last thing Geiz wants is a Woz and that is incredibly valid.

New Woz is so chipper and I hate him. When is he leaving?

Also I know he’s going to try and play my beloved tsundere son like Woz is trying (and apparently succeeding) to play Sougo, but I will still totally cut him if he tries.

On the bright side, New Woz appearing did make Woz act more human for a bit. So there’s that.

Still find it hilarious how the breakdown was Tsukuyomi-Woz and Geiz-Sougo.

Zi-O 18 Raw thoughts:

I, too, love Woz’s little run into the recap. When I first saw it I had to rewind and watch it again.

They had a moot! The Zi-Ot3 have a moot! Plus Woz, I guess.

Sougo gives the Wozes nicknames and Geiz picks up on it so fast even Tsukuyomi is amazed. See you two? You’re even in sync out of battle!

It seems like no one has pointed out the elephant in the room that this seems to imply Geiz is going to have to kill Sougo... I feel like neither of them want to discuss that.

Geiz is alternating between brooding and giving Woz the stink eye. Also valid.

Okay. Geiz was apparently talking to Woz about the book and weird future Nook, and then he made this face that I can’t figure out... Was he responding to something Woz said? If so, why did we zoom in on him like that? Was is something else? Should I be worried? Is how Woz got that book related to their backstory? I’m worried about my son, okay?

Swartz is a manipulative bastard, too, it seems. But we already knew that.

Also, hi Kinji! Aw, please don’t look so sad!

I guess they’re gonna use Woz for information gathering now. Also, apparently Uhr/Heurhe also fails the ‘Spot The Difference’ test. So far, Sougo is our only winner.

No, wait. Why did you guys leave Sougo alone w/ Woz? That’s dangerous. Next time, please leave Tsukuyomi to monitor?

I get that Sougo’s like ‘have courage and faith in yourself’ but I hope he’s not taking all the credit for Geiz pep talking him in 16. I have... Odd priorities.

Yeah, I expected this from Swartz. His tagline is literally about how he doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He’d be a Blue Meanie, except...

Anyway, A for effort to Rentaro. First person to actually attempt to physically fight off a Time Jacket. Too bad it was Swartz.

Also, New Woz and Swartz were being very chummy. SUSPICIOUS.

I mean sure, Swartz left in a huff, but... Unless... Did Swartz also fail the test?

Apparently Woz is giving some speech about how everyone wants to avoid Ouma Zi-O and he's the only exception? I’d have more sympathy if he wasn’t actively supporting a murderous tyrant. Hey, Sougo. Maybe now is a good time to ask why he’s so fine w/ half the human population being wiped out et al.? Literally, you met Ouma Zi-O. I was under the impression you now understood why people are trying to avoid it. Don’t forget that now just bc Woz gave some dramatic bs about being the ‘only one~’ supporting that future.

... Why are Tsukuyomi and Geiz just hanging out under a bridge and staring at the skyline? Where were you guys?

Yup. Knew it. Geiz doesn’t buy this bs for a second. I don’t think you need to watch him around New Woz, Tsukuyomi (though I guess he might stab him, but that’s fine) Sougo’s the one we’re unsure about here.

Not sure what they talked about at the end there. Something about a new future they don’t know.

Also New Woz was apparently like ‘oh you’ll believe me’ or something along those lines, and it sounded like a threat, and if he tries to mess w/ my son, it’s gonna end badly for him.

Next up, question mark man! Who is... Hiromu????!!!!!!!!

Okay. I think they’re just, like, throwing out a line in the Sentai grapevine and being like ‘who feels like being a Kamen Rider?’ and these are the people who were interested/available.

My ‘one fear’ is still them making Sougo and Geiz turn on each other again, but there were other shots in the preview that gave me hope. It looked like the boys were continuing be super teamwork duo. Plus that fight in the start of FOREVER is still warming my little heart. Don’t let me down, Toei! (Firebird said, knowing very well they were likely setting themselves up for disappointment)

Lastly, Tsukuyomi’s outfit was so cute, which sucks bc she wasn’t in the ep much after the start and I wanted to see it more. I love her fur collar, I hope we see it again:

Anyway, that’s all for now, folks! Still uncertain about the ‘Zi-O walking way from his friends’ moment in the opening now, don’t trust Woz, but trust New Woz even less, praying Toei doesn’t do what they’re probably gonna do (<sarcasm>bc obviously people turning on each other is the only interesting source of drama</sarcasm>).

Like, I’d cry if at some point, especially after his repeated ‘I’m not your friend’ stuff, Geiz is like ‘You’re my friend and I don’t want to kill you.’ I’d cry. DON’T YOU WANT ME TO CRY, TOEI??? XD

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O Ep 46: (silent shock)

Okay, so… last week was… oh, right!

Everything is painful and nothing is okay!

This week?

THINGS CONTINUE TO HAPPEN AND NOT BE OKAY!

Liveblog under the cut, because there was no good early spot to break it off!

––––

So yeah, Swartz summoned Hat Woz, because of course he did. Just, you know, the ultimate insult to injury. I always wonder if Watanabe likes playing this version of Woz, because Hat Woz is just such a smug little bastard in a completely different way from Scarf Woz.

And oh look, surprising none of us, Swartz is going to try and kill Tsukuyomi, because there’s no room for her in the future he’s going to write.

Hat Woz has his Future Note again – which is odd.

See, Tsukasa had theorized that the Dark Riders were being summoned from timelines where they won, but that didn’t sit right with me. Eternal was surprised to be alive again. He wouldn’t have said anything like that if he’d won, because he’d definitely have survived his fight. You know, for the certain value of surviving he can have. Not being any more dead than he already was.

And this Hat Woz knows Tsukuyomi, says that it’s been a long time… but Daiki stole the Future Note the first time we saw him, when he may or may not have been ‘helping’ Oma Zi-O, so he shouldn’t be able to have it now.

So when is this Woz from?

Anyway, Eternal gets some good hits in on Aqua while Swartz is being distracting by way of how much of a tool he is. Swartz advances on Tsukuyomi…

And is blocked by a shoulder check from Scarf Woz Ginga.

…Ah, man, the Woz V Woz fight is gonna be hard to write, isn’t it?

Scarf Woz summons a minature star to blind the opponents, because of COURSE his Sun form can do that, why NOT! Then… okay, hang on, this one has to be in script form.

Woz: (summons a mini sun)

Woz: (turns to the camera) According to this book-

Woz: (focuses back on the scene and increases the intensity of the light)

Then when the light fades, he, Tsukuyomi, and Aqua are all gone – and we head into the recap vault, where he’s got a model of Another Decade.

Woz. Woz what are you?! What is the purpose of the recaps?! Where is this vault?! Please explain!

Anyway, the recap is basically him saying that Swartz is Another Decade, that he’s trapped Geiz in one of his Another Worlds, a brief clip of Heure being stabbed and dying in Sougo’s arms, and apparently, we’re going to finally find out what Swartz’s plan is!

––––

The current team at 9 to 5 consists of Sougo (still pretty beaten up), Woz (sulking against the wall, as usual), Tsukuyomi (depressed and blaming herself), and Miharu (less depressed but also kinda dumb). Sougo summarizes one of the current issues: Geiz is stuck in an Another World. Woz mentions that Decade or Diend might be able to get them there, not that they’d be much assistance.

Yeah, I still don’t think they’re actually de-powered the way you think they are, but sure, let’s run with it.

Sougo lets everyone know that one fo the other things Tsukasa had said was that the only way to get people out of an Another World is to destroy it… which is a problem, since that’s not a thing anyone here can do. I’m not entirely sure Tsukasa actually can, either, since I’m pretty sure they fixed that little ‘problem’ of his back in his portion of the W & Decade movie. …But only pretty sure, because the season never bothered to explain what was going on with that in the first place, or what was actually causing it, because literally the only person with answers was Narutaki. And Narutaki’s not exactly known for giving details. Though, if he shows up in the last episode of Zi-O to give exposition on this season, and still blames Tsukasa for everying… I don’t know if it’d be frustrating or hilarious.

…I kind of want that to happen, now.

OKAY, RIGHT, THE SHOW IS STILL A THING.

Tsukuyomi blames herself for falling into Swartz’s trap – which. Uh. Sweetie. You didn’t. Technically, you set a trap for him. It didn’t work, but that’s because he’s incredibly overpowered.

Same goes for you, Miharu. Don’t you go blaming yourself, either! Especailly by saying it’s because you weren’t ‘brave enough’! You’re plenty brave, you did great, buddy! Again, Swartz and Eternal are both super-overpowered. None of this is either of your faults.

Enter Junichiro for the distraction! This time, he’s got salads with white truffle oil, to bring out the flavor.

Something about the ‘white truffles’ makes Woz realize something. I don’t know if he’s got an idea, if he’s fanboying over how good of a cook Junichiro is, or both – I kind of think it’s both.

(At this point, if either of them wanted to change career paths, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if they became chefs.)

There’s also a nice little aside where Woz comments that Junichiro is such a hot hand with cooking, taking Junichiro’s hand sin his own – to which Uncle mentions that Woz has really hot hands. Meaning at least one of them is probably still hot from that little stunt he pulled with a miniature sun earlier.

––––

Aw, this is actually kind of sad – Hat Woz went to the overlook where he was un-realitied during Another Blade.

Sougo & Co. show up – and they’re asking for his help. Which is a: really kind of depressing, because last time he was around they hated each other, and b: really kind of sweet, because Sougo and Woz, at least, are willing to work with him.

Of course, Hat Woz has zero reason to listen, and asks what they’re going to do if he says no.

Woz, Sougo, and a hesitant Miharu hold up their belts.

Hat Woz, probably scoffing internally, says that’s not a threat that’s going to work on him… and holds up his belt. Of course he has it back, Scarf Woz. Another Worlds are made of lost opportunities, aren’t they?

I love how he’s just… everyone else is holding their belts, ready to put them on at a moments notice, and he’s just dangling his by the watch holder. Not even with all fingers, just with one finger and a thumb. Let it never be said that Hat Woz will miss out on a chance to be incredibly Extra.

He doesn’t really want to help them, in particular, but… well, he does want to rescue His Savior.

Riiiight, Geiz Revive was, in his timeline, supposed to be the one who stopped Oma Zi-O on Oma’s Day – which I’ve doubted for some time, since Hat Woz is made of smugness and deceit, but I’ll allow it.

We cut to… oh, noooo, it’s the guy who was Victim of the Day #2 from the Den-O Arc, the one who made a contract – Takuya – reminiscing at Sayuri’s grave. Then here comes Swartz, saying that he’ll make him his own world.

Takuya is pulled into an Another World, one where ‘Sayuri’ never died.

Hat Woz starts to narrate.

Basically, Swartz is using his powers as Another Decade to place people in Another Worlds, where they relive one moment, over and over again, for eternity. We see the runner from the last episode, winning his race, before time resets, and he wins again. We see Owada winning the match, before time resets, and he wins again.

By sending people into the Another Worlds, Swartz is able to summon Dark Riders – in Takuya’s case, Kamen Rider Yuuki, from the Saraba Den-O film.

Looks like Hat Woz counts himself among the Dark Riders… which. Uh. Is a good point. Most Dark Riders are movie exclusives, usually being mirrors of the lead. Hat Woz doesn’t mirror Sougo, but he is a reflection of Scarf Woz. So… yeah, he would count.

He tells the group that in order to save his Savior from the Another World, they’re going ot have to ‘cross a dangerous bridge’ – and everyone is willing to do so.

So then. Shall they begin?

––––

Cut to a beach, with Miharu watching the ocean. Hat Woz ‘narrates’ via his book, giving an ‘instruction’ for Kamen Riders Aqua and Eternal to fight.

And so, they do – Eternal shows up, Miharu transforms, and they start exchanging blows. Sougo runs up, and joins in the fight as Zi-O.

(Sougo, please don’t use your base form for this! At least use Zi-O II! I get that the appearance of the fight is way better this way, but still. Katsumi Daido is not a Movie Rider to be trifled with!)

––––

Somehow, Swartz knows that Zi-O and Eternal are fighting. He doesn’t much seem to care about Aqua, though.

He also knows that Hora’s here, and that she’s alone.

He asks where Heure is.

She holds up his feather decoration, saying that he’s ‘right here.’ Now, give her her powers back.

Swartz smirks.

I don’t know if he believed she’d actually go so far as to kill Heure, but either way, I think he’s impressed.

Probably not in the way she wants him to be, but…

––––

On the beach, Aqua and Zi-O are fighting Eternal, up until Yuuki draws Zi-O out into a fight of their own.

Hat Woz watches, flouncy and smug as always, when Scarf Woz comes up.

Hat Woz makes a comment about how he wishes that they’d take he and his fellow Dark Riders seriously – and Scarf Woz says that he’ll be his opponent in the long-awaited Woz-on-Woz fight.

(PIC OF WOZ HENSHIN HERE)

This is a really cool transformation! I don’t think we’ve gotten a good veiw of Ginga’s transformation, so this is as good as any!

They exchange a few punches, and then go into their Rider Kicks…

And holy shit I can’t believe Hat Woz is fucking dead. He got demolished by the Ginga finisher, like, he didn’t stand a chance.

––––

…

Ah. We briefly flash back to the canyon… and he told Scarf Woz to kill him. Mercilessly.

They can’t let on that it’s an act, after all.

They’ll get their real fight later.

––––

Back on the beach, Swartz appears, clapping. That sure was a fancy display. Why not do it again? He opens a wall, and Hat Woz steps out, flouncy as ever, saying it’s time for round two.

Tsukuyomi steps out, trying to pause him, saying that won’t happen – but she’s only got some of her power back, not enough to actually stop Hat Woz.

In retaliation, he takes the wall that he’d come through, and. Uh. Whips it over to Scarf Woz and Tsukuyomi, spinning it around them until it – and they – disappear, and tells Swartz that he’s sent them off to an Another World for him.

Sougo shouts, breaking off from his engagement with Yuuki, and tries to attack Swartz, but is blocked by Eternal.

Swartz tells him to give up, he’s not going to see them again. They’re going to be there for the rest of eternity.

Kamen Rider Eternal says that he likes the sound of that word – ‘Eien’. Eternity.

He pulls out his Gaia Memory, and inserts it into his knife’s finisher slot.

Eternal! Maximum Drive!

To which I, a Double fan, have a general reaction of NOPE NO NUH-UH I AM NOT OKAY WITH THIS!!

For those who didn’t watch Double, or didn’t watch it’s summer movie, “Kamen Rider W Forever: A to Z/The Gaia Memories of Fate”, That is a very bad thing to hear. In the movie, using just that one Memory for a finisher disabled all the Gaia Memories in the city, except for the type he was using.

I mean, it’s not like it would effect the watches, but it still brings up SOME BAD TIMES.

Case in point; here he uses it to ‘conjure’ what is basically a blade of blue fire, and proceeds to slash said blade towards Sougo – AND A WALL OF FIRE EXPLODES AROUND HIM.

Zi-O’s left on the ground, in pain, but still transformed, so good for him for absolutely tanking that hit.

Aqua rushes to his defense, and is intercepted by Yuuki, as Eternal re-engages Zi-O.

Hat Woz, sighing dramatically, starts up his transformation.

––––

Tsukuyomi and Woz are in the Another World that Geiz is in.

So, before I continue actually watching the scene, I want to say what I’ve been thinking Geiz’s World might be. It’s supposed to be a moment of ‘lost possibilities’, a moment the captive regrets, and wants to take back.

So… what could Geiz’s be?

I figure… I’ve been figuring it might be related to his defeating or not defeating Sougo – or rather, Zi-O. Either way… I don’t think it could be some triumphant moment. Geiz is pretty much never in a good place emotionally, because he has seen some shit, and he doesn’t really know what his goal is anymore.

Starting back up, and…

Oh.

It’s the confrontation by the river the other day.

Where he pointed out that Sougo became Oma Zi-O, and ruined the future.

In the original moment, he and Sougo fought, yelling at each other, and Geiz took off.

Here?

He stops himself after saying Oma Zi-O created the terrible timeline he’s from. He catches himself, backing off, getting quieter.

Saying that he… he fled from there, coming back to the current time. He looks so sad. He knows he has to go back, but he doesn’t want to. He wants to stay here, to keep living in 2019, to create a new future with Sougo.

Tsukuyomi and Woz watch, stunned, as time rewinds, and Geiz starts over.

This is the moment Geiz wanted to retry.

Not a battle, not the fight against Oma Zi-O in the first episode, not any of the times he could have finished Sougo off.

It’s his not saying that he trusts Sougo.

Oh, Geiz…

––––

Zi-O and Eternal have managed to change locations, and Sougo thinks of something. It was Double who defeated Eternal before, right? So that’s who he’s going to use.

Armor Time! DOUBLE!

It’s not just the reused sound effects from Double’s transformation this time. It’s actual music during the fight. One of the more hard-boiled fight tracks, the one usually used during the final confrontation against an opponent. And I love it. We won’t get a proper Double arc, or a Kuuga one – I know that by now. There’s not enough time left in the season. And that’s killing me.

But using the fight music? That’s… that’ll have to do.

Of course, in keeping with his whole thing, Daido says that he didn’t lose, it was just that the wind changed! He activates his other Gaia Memory, Zone.

This is the one that was super destructive. The one that summons 26 Gaia Memories to him, to let him use a supercharged version of the Eternal Maximum Drive. The finisher we saw him starting to use in the preview.

A nice note: Of the memories we hear the system announce, there are Accel, Cyclone, Fang, Heat, Joker, Metal, Luna, Trigger, and Xtreme.

There are a few others mixed in that seem mostly random, except perhaps Weather, who was one of the main enemies for a time, but these nine?

These are the ones that Shotaro, Philip, and Ryu used.

…Thank you.

Sougo stands firm against the Maximum Drive, and inserts a different Ridewatch into his belt.

Zi-O! Geiz!

A beam of yellow light shoots down onto the looping, trapped Geiz, transforming him into his armor, and then into a watch.

Woz!

A beam of blue light shoots down onto Woz, transforming him into his armor, and then into a watch.

We flash to Hat Woz’s plan. The Eternal Maximum Drive can destroy a world, forever. But to use it to clear out the Another Worlds, they have to get him into one.

And we’ve already seen, during the Kabuto arc, that it doesn’t matter how far away they are – Trinity can pull Geiz and Woz from anywhere, even from Earth into space.

So, it may be a gamble, but it just might be able to cross between worlds.

It’s a solid idea, and it makes sense that Hat Woz is the one to think of it. They got the Trinity watch from him, after all.

In the present, a veil of red light surrounds Zi-O and Eternal, who is still powering through his kick. They disappear-

-and reappear in ‘Geiz’s World’.

Trinity probably either takes the path of least resistance, or follows Sougo’s will. The only other time we’ve seen it used at a great distance was the incident in Kabuto, where Sougo and Woz were both in orbit, and Geiz was drawn from Earth to them.

Here, Geiz and Woz are both in the Another World, so Sougo’s pulled to them… and so is the guy he’s in contact with.

As the Trinity transformation finishes, Zi-O steps aside, letting Eternal’s kick collide with… what might be a sort of barrier point in the world. Regardless of how, it starts cracking the fabric of reality, starting right at the illusory Sougo.

Owada’s world starts to crack, and then shatters.

The runner’s world cracks, and then shatters.

Takuya’s world cracks, and then shatters.

In reality, a dimensional wall appears, cracks, and shatters, to reveal Tsukuyomi and all of the people who had been trapped – or, well, six people. Hard to say how many more there could have been… except that we can count, can’t we?

Four Dark Riders were summoned in episode 44, so that’s four of the victims accounted for. There’s Owada, who was used for Eternal, and Takuya, who was used for Yuuki. Geiz was used for Hat Woz, so that’s technically seven people rescued.

The Trinity transformation ends, Geiz seeming surprised, like he’s just waking up. Sougo tells Tsukuyomi to get everyone out of there, and she herds the civilians away.

Katsumi ends his transformation, going back to his normal form, saying that an interesting wind sure blew through here.

Casual note from the Double Fan to those who may not have watched: He’s a native of Fuuto, just like Shotaro, so the wind metaphors and comments are incredibly appropriate. Fuuto is the ‘windy city,’ so it basically goes without saying that it’s important to them.

Sougo steps forward. He tells Katsumi he took advantage of his powers, and that he’s sorry about that.

(Sougo never wanted to erase anyone.)

But… it’s okay. Thanks to Sougo, a world where only Katsumi was revived was destroyed. Now, he can go to where his comrades are.

His team from the film. Hanehara Reika, the Heat Dopant. Izumi Kyosui, the Luna Dopant. Domoto Gozo, the Metal Dopant. Ashihara Ken, the Trigger Dopant. Maria S. Cranberry, the Cyclone Dopant, and his mother.

They all died in the movie, as did he. And he was callous then, because he had lost control, but before the events of his V-Cinema… he truly did care about them. He was slowly losing touch with his humanity, but before then… they were a team; a family, almost.

And in the Another World that Swartz created, he was the only one brought back. Now? He’ll get to be with them again.

He holds out his hand, his thumb to the side. One of his standard pre- and post-battle tics is a harsh thumbs down, signalling his opponents defeat.

This time? It’s a thumbs up.

Katsumi Daido fades back out of existence, going out with a smile.

Behind them, Hat Woz laughs. He thought they’d be able to do it, he was counting on it.

Scarf Woz… wants to know why hat Woz would make a plan that would cause himself to disappear.

It’s simple, really. He wanted to save his Savior. That was his lost possibility. His old timeline.

Sauntering up, glitching, he approaches Geiz, telling him to listen carefully. From the start, Swartz has been after-

A bolt of purple energy strikes him, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Hat Woz glitches out of existence, stuck in pain as he disappears.

As Swartz lowers his hand, Kamen Rider Yuuki shudders, fading back out of existence.

Swartz is impressed, really. They all had him fooled. But it’s foolish of them to think there weren’t any more of his Another Worlds.

To prove his point, the four Dark Riders from the end of episode 44 show back up; Fuuma, Dark Ghost, Rey, and G4.

…So… Who were the runner and the other three nameless victims for?

Woz and Geiz go to fight them. Now, Sougo and Swartz are alone. Shall they settle this?

Sougo doesn’t flinch. He’s not alone, after all.

Aqua appears behind Swartz, jumping to punch him – and time freezes for Aqua and Sougo.

Swartz isn’t alone, either. Hora is behind Sougo, lowering her hand from her customary flip of her feather.

––––

Swartz circles the frozen Sougo, giving a very… ‘familiar’ speech. Sougo really was born to be a king. He will become a king, and have the duty to save the world from annihilation.

Sougo finally realizes what we’ve known for some time now – that Swartz was the one in his dream… his memory.

Swartz continues circling, until he stopps behind Sougo’s back. He’s always been watching Sougo, and now… Now Sougo’s completed the development fitting of a king. He’s collected the powers of so many Kamen Riders, and now Swartz will be taking them off his hands.

So that Swartz can become king.

The Time Jackers have always said that they were looking for a candidate for king, and it’s been clear that he’s had his candidate all along.

At first, it was implied to be Hiryuu. Then Sougo. But no.

He’s been his own choice the entire time.

He freezes.

Hora’s not impressed. That’s what he’s been trying to do, all this time? As her hand glows red, forming a blade around it, she says that she’s going to do what Heure couldn’t, and kill him.

She stabs forward, into his chest.

He starts to move again, and looks… smug. Did she really think he wouldn’t know what she was doing?

She didn’t stab him. Her hand-blade is caught in a tiny little dimensional wall – which spreads, holding her in place as Swartz becomes Another Decade, and round-house kicks her in the face, sending her flying.

He makes a quip about how he hopes she and Heure enjoy their ‘lives’ together, as she struggles to get up for a few moments…

And then stops moving.

Time resumes for the others.

Sougo turns, and sees Hora a distance away. Coldly, he tells Swartz that he’s not fit to be king.

Swartz’s reply? Why not? He’s certainly powerful enough.

Sougo’s mad. A king is supposed to make the world better. That is what power is supposed to be for!

An enraged Grand Zi-O begins to fight Another Decade.

––––

In a dark warehouse, Geiz Revive Fury and Woz Ginga Sun fight the four Dark Riders, quickly finishing them off with a pair of final attacks.

Also, Woz’s burned through some of the columns. Maybe don’t use that one indoors again?! We’ve already seen that Sun Form can, given the right amount of time, destroy asteroids, so I’m just saying that it might be a little too powerful for inside use!

Ginga being incredibly dangerous aside, Tsukuyomi runs up.

Geiz goes to her first, with an admission. Turns out he wants to stay here, in this time period. It’s where they belong. Not just him, but the three of them. He’s saying this to Tsukuyomi, and using ‘ore-tachi.’ ‘We.’ The group. And he thanks Woz, because he really does owe him that.

Woz comments that the other him would have loved to hear that.

Of course, as Geiz says, there’s still the question of what Hat Woz was trying to say at the end. What is Swartz really after?

The orchestral version of Toki no Ouja starts playing.

The discussion they have points out that all of his timing is strange. Why wait until now to take Tsukuyomi’s power? Why not when she first found out about it, confirming that she was his sister? Why attack his Time Jackers now, of all times, when he could have dropped them at any point? Why create the Another Worlds?

Woz mentions that it all seems random, but Geiz realizes – what if it’s not? What if there’s something connecting all of this?

Woz picks up the train of thought. The targets… Heure was starting to bond with Sougo. Owada and the runner were his classmates. Tsukuyomi had long since gotten close to him.

Geiz continues. He was targeted, too.

Tsukuyomi brings up a point – that Swartz only started finally putting his plans in motion once Sougo obtained Grand Zi-O.

Geiz turns, realizing. Swartz has only had one actual target.

Zi-O.

––––

(deep inhale)

(sharp exhale)

HOLY SHIT.

Grand Zi-O and Another Decade are at that power plant location.

Swartz… oh.

He flat out tells Sougo that if he wants to stop his plans, then go ahead and defeat him. But there’s a catch to it. If Swartz is stopped, then his time axis will disappear. Swartz will disappear… and so will Tsukuyomi.

The two of them – Swartz and Kamen Rider Zi-O – can’t both continue to exist, and as such, neither can Tsukuyomi and Tokiwa Sougo.

There is one other path, though…

Aqua interuppts, running up, shouting for Sougo not to listen, Swartz is just trying to trick him! He tries to use a Rider Kick, dropping down towards Another Decade…

Who simply opens a wall that moves Aqua from in front of him to behind, before using another to move himself to face Aqua.

Swartz says that it’s a shame… as his ‘belt’ glows, jagged red rectangles of light circling the center. He swings a roundhouse kick right at Aqua, in a corrupted version of Decade’s Rider Kick, complete with scattered images of cards mixed in among the explosion, some of which hit Aqua, and some which go outward along the ground to strike Sougo, knocking the both of them out of their transformations.

A thunderstorm starts, as Aqua rolls along the ground, sparking painfully, before his transformation breaks, and he’s laying on the ground, gasping in pain, with a large burn mark on his shirt.

Sougo runs over to him, the storm already approaching full swing. Miharu struggles to breath, one hand holding tight to the pair of underwear that Eiji gave him years ago.

In accordance with the OOO rule of three.

He manages to say just a little.

“For Tsukuyomi… for Alpina… and tomorrow…”

Minato Miharu, Kamen Rider Aqua, the young man from the future who was so, so afraid of his own power, but managed to over come it and become a hero… lays on the ground, in a storm… and stops moving.

Sougo kneels beside him.

Swartz, in his normal appearance once again, starts talking as Sougo glares. He’s got three paths available to him…

One for Tsukuyomi, one for himself… and the one where he becomes Oma Zi-O.

Sougo looks down, soaked, disbeleiving. “The path of Oma Zi-O…?”

The sound of the rain trails off, leaving nothing but the sound of Sougo breathing heavily, before he yells Swartz’s name in rage.

The endscreen is silent.

––––

The preview opens with Woz and Geiz fighting Dustards and a Smash. It cuts to the quartet in the lobby of 9 to 5, with Swartz saying that ‘the destruction of worlds has begun’ - transitioning into a shot of the Gaim and Double watches, in their place on the tower, lighting up and then going dark, their color gone, but the images still there.

There’s a shot of the Orion Zodiarts and the Shika Inves (Deer Inves), accompanied by a group of Masquerade Mooks, Yummies, Dustards, and Elementary Inves.

A shot of Another Zi-O II, with someone saying they will take the last treasure – but it sure doesn’t sound like Daiki, who was the last person seen with the Another Zi-O watch. That audio clip overlaps with a shot I definitely do not like, of Tsukuyomi bent over Tsukasa, who does not look to be getting up any time soon! (Please just be passed out, PLEASE just be passed out!)

Sougo says something about ‘other worlds meeting their end’, which is played over… that is Mondo! That’s Quiz, in his civilian form! There’s also a serious-expression Sougo.

Then, a shot of… Uh.

That. Is Another Zi-O II… being fought by. Uh. Grand Zi-O… and Zi-O. Regular, base-form Zi-O.

Sougo are you going to summon yourself, somehow?!

The voice clip playing over that is a deep voice. “I am the Grim Reaper – I will surpass the Kamen Riders!”

oh no.

The next fight has Geiz Revive fighting a figure in black, silver, and purple, with a distinct engine motif.

Oh no.

Then a shot of Chase.

Then Machin Chaser, with blank versions of the three basic types of Roidmude.

OH NO.

––––

Zi-O. Toei. This is NOT what we meant when we said we wanted a Drive Arc. This is definitely not what we meant when we asked for Chase to return.

TOEI NO.

[mr--potatobutt]

Kamen Rider's Secondary character's Final Forms

Im glad newer riders are going to be better with final forms but why are they sometimes restricted to movies to actually be good? (Good looking, power creeping in Rider is a crapshoot to figure out). I'm not gonna talk about if a season just doesnt have a final form cause that's more a chouce than restriction. Starting with the first secondary riders with final forms, Ryuki did pretty well with that. Wing basically had the same thing as Ryuki which felt nice and fresh. Going to Blade, Garren having a Jack form was cool but like....didnt everybody have a King card too??? Like.....why not use that for a sick ass Emperor form? It was understandable but ehhhhh, there was a chance, money probably was tight. Kabuto had a reason for no final forms for everybody, the movie was gratuidous for Hyper Gattack. Now jumping to Wizard, why...disnt any of the Mages have a more dancy form? They had cheaper suits from the movie but they could have gotten some kind of upgrade to use. But Wizard did have weird and not so great writting so I can let that fester on ita own. Gaim had a bunch of novels, movies, stage shows, to explain the lack of riders using Jimber and Kachidoki forms. Main series could have benefited but there was the whole "Everybody is slowly dying/getting injured" thing which is chill. Drive cockblocked Mach and Chaser from looking cooler. Give Chaser the Super Deadheat key and make it have purple highlights. Thus Deadheat Chaser, and give Mach something like Formula to make him super duper fast maybe? The Mach/Chaser form was awful looking, Chaser/Mach looked great but wasnt too different with molding. Ghost made Necrom get stuck with the Megauloader when they couldve given him a ghost belt so that he could have an upgrade like the Build Drive -> Sclash Driver. Ex-Aid had many chances to upgrade everybody and wasted it at every turn to make Emu the strongest. Doctor Mighty wouldve been beautiful to see, God and "Just a Bike" in one body. Build solved its issues completely in a matter of two movies. Zi-O did Geiz dirty by making him suffer the same fate as Snipe with the "Half-way through the story" upgrade being his final form in the end. He does get Geiz Majesty in the movie but also dont do him dirty like Snipe.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Okay…

… Speedy run down of the new trailer from here by yours truly. In no order:

Okay, first off, this trailer dispelled a little bit of my terror. Only a little, but it did dispel it. In the altered timeline, Horobi and Jin apparently still transform, but are also still on the same side, indicating that MetsubouJinrai.fam (or, at least, the two of them) will still be together in-show at around the time the movie happens/is set—too boot, in what looks like a scene that’d be near the end. At least, I hope that’s what that means. I think these films are usually set around where the series is when they come out, and this one isn’t out for another month, which does mean that after that is fair game, but for now it seems my boys will be allowed to stick together at least until then—it would be really weird, I feel, for the movie to be set as early as the first ten eps, which it would have to be if they were gonna make Horobi turn on Jin next ep… (there’s something really weird going on w/ those Dodos anyway…) Besides, it’s WAY too early for that. (actually, it’ll always be too early for that and I hope the writers realise that)

Also yeah, Jin apparently still exists, despite Daybreak being altered/erased! He’s got Hiden earpieces, indicating that he wasn’t made by Horobi (who looks so damn gorgeous even in that grainy, poor quality video… >////////////<). No sign of Ansatsu-chan, which I fear does not bode well for Dodo Baby in the future (esp since he’s apparently got a twin next ep? Super confused).

In other news, Yua is also featured in the trailer, indicating she’s making it to at least December 21st. Hopefully. So boo yah for that, too.

Otherwise… I’m presuming it’s going to turn out Aruto’s father¡gear was good all along, to speak in tropes, and is probably the one who tosses Aruto the ForceRiser in another trailer shot. Also… ‘Grandmama, it’s me… Anastasia!’… W/ a twist.

Another thing is that Fukuzoe (or however the devil his name is spelled) seems to genuinely care about Korenosuke to some degree, which was a nice surprise. He’s quite distraught at seeing him in danger in the trailer, and it’s probably not an act bc there’s practically no one else in the room save Another Zero-One and Jun’s Yes-Man.

Did I mention Horobi looks gorgeous? Wonder if his name is still Horobi…

Tsukuyomi gets in on the action! No sign of Valkyrie, but did see Yua, so who knows. Vulcan only appeared for a moment, too.

Woz is still carrying that damn book.

Lady Time Jacker apparently wants to steal the powers of all Riders. Ever, I guess. Maybe? All I heard was ‘all Rider’ and I don’t understand Japanese.

Horobi and Geiz fight each other… Why must my faves do this to me? TT^TT

There’s a shot that looks like Zetsumerisers being mass produced… Canon to the show, or the altered timeline?

Cute brunette babies are cute. By which I mean Sougo and Aruto.

Lots of talk about dreams.

And that’s all for now, folks!

Key words there being ‘for now.’

… Did I mention Horobi looks gorgeous?

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 37: Gotta go fast!

I’m gonna sprinkle in some chat segments from the live watch that @miyukomatsuda and I did of the episode as it aired, but this is mostly my watch of the RiderTime sub.

(I’m also hoping to do a watch of some of the recent episodes again, but with the O-T subs, so that I can get a more… well phrased translation.)

As always, spoilers for Zi-O episode 37 below the cut.

~~~~~

So, a giant meteorite just hit. It doesn’t have a Rider inside this time, though! No, it has Worms! Shapeshifters! Who are basically the Zygons!

(I don’t go to Doctor Who anymore, but that’s what I’ve been told, and the impression I got from Marcosatsu’s History of Kabuto vid.)

Team 9-to-5 are watching a news broadcast at breakfast about the meteorite – aaaand nope, newscaster’s a Worm, much to the poor cameraman’s surprise.

Cressy: Woz: Welp! Found out who we’ve got this week!

Miyuko: “My turn to do things.”

Miyuko: “Also, we dealt with the gas leak.”

Miyuko: “We should all be sane again.”

(The idiot ball was in full force during the Kiva Arc. We will never let it rest.)

~~~~~

Sougo, Tsukuyomi, and Geiz are headed off to see where that second meteorite hit, the one with the worms on it, when a third one shoots down, in the other direction. So, off they go, splitting the party. Again.

Poor Geiz, he’s with Woz again. Who, by the way, is nowhere to be seen, having ditched the team to go do his recap.

At… the Hachiko statue.

Huh.

And the key player for this fortnight’s worth of episodes… Kamen Rider Gatack – Arata Kagami.

Who is clearly in a state of “Not this again...” as another meteorite streaks by. Or it could be that one that split the party, it’s a little hard to say.

~~~~~

They used part of the Kabuto opening – with the beetle wings – to cut into the OP this time! Nice touch!

I was host for the stream Miyuko and I did when we watched the Raw, and I BLINKED AND MISSED THE FORM RUN THROUGH that time! And here I pride myself on noticing differences in the OPs!

But Kamen Rider Woz’s base form has been replaced by his Ginga form, with the ‘base’ version, Ginga Finaly shown in full, and the Planet and Sun forms shown in bust form.

~~~~~

And FINALLY, they notice that the Another Rider’s aren’t erasing the previous Riders from history anymore! They haven’t been doing that for a while, guys. I mean, if they were still doing it, you wouldn’t have been able to have all of your senpai help you out in the movie last December… you know, shortly before you moved into having Future Riders for a while, and then back into the older Legend Riders.

You might write it off as ‘odd’, or ‘paradoxes have messed with space-time nearly beyond repair’, but I still say that time travel doesn’t work like you think it does.

I will hold my ‘they have been faking it’ theory until absolutely proven otherwise, folks.

…and I’m still going to be using it in ReUnited, anyway. ~Fanfiction land says I can do what I want.~

Besides, Sougo’s having fun! He’s getting to meet all of these Kamen Riders, after all!

…Sougo, kitty, I’m pretty sure you still don’t quite get how serious some of this is, but you get a solid B for effort.

~~~~~

Cressy: THEY FINALLY REALIZE THAT THEY AREN’T ERASING PEOPLE ANYMORE

Miyuko: YOU DUMBASSES

Miyuko: Mouri: DAMNIT SHIMOMIYA STOP MAKING ME HANDLE LORE

~~~~~

At the third landing site…

Woz. Woz you are so unbelievably petty. “I will be giving the orders around here, let’s go.” For crying out loud, Woz, just work as a team with Geiz, please.

So, off they go, into battle against a swarm of Worms using Faiz and Kikai!

~~~~~

Miyuko: if sougo goes to space i’m gonna yell that I called it

~~~~~

SOUGO IS SO DUMB.

SOUGO. You already knew that they could copy people. You SAW one do it on tv. So why would you assume that the people working at the crash site, where that broadcast came from, were normal humans?

Sougo, PLEASE.

Also, it looks like the Worms agree with me: right before they drop their disquises, they’re giving him this look like “Wow, this kid is dumb.”

And before Sougo bothers to transform, shots fly from off screen~!

Hey there, Gatack! Nice to see you’re doing okay!

~~~~~

Meanwhile, over with Woz and Geiz, we’ve got them landing finishers on a pair of Worms… but there’s still more of them. And, as Woz finally bothers to mention…

Worms can go faster than you can see when they get stronger.

(I agree with Geiz’s frustration at not having been told this sooner! WOZ!!)

Good thing they’ve got Revive Typhoon and Shinobi~~!

~~~~~

Back with Sougo and Kagami… They finish off a mass of Worms, but something red knocks them down.

Something – sorry, someone – that Kagami calls ‘Kageyama’.

Enter PunchHopper.

And with his entrance, Kagami goes into Gatack’s cast off Rider form – and right into Clock Up.

~~~~~

Cressy: “Hey, new kid, how fast can you go?”

Cressy: Actually, super speed is a problem for Sougo!

Miyuko: Sougo: UHHHHHHH

Miyuko: He has to hide

Cressy: Because he couldn’t keep up with Revive so

~~~~~

The battle starts to deal some collateral damage to the infrastructure, leading to rubble starting to fall towards a mother and child.

Tsukuyomi says no.

A stopwatch ticks.

The rubble freezes in midair, letting the civilians escape.

Tsukuyomi sees something.

Herself, younger, and three people facing away from the cameras viewpoint. At least one is an adult – presumably male, in an outfit that looks an awful lot like the one Swartz wore in 2009. The other two… I think the one to the left of the screen is a young girl, with pigtails. The one on the right looks to be an adult male… and it’s very grainy, but that style of dress looks like a black and white version of what Sougo’s uncle wears.

Of course, she only focuses in on young her and almost-definitely-Swartz.

Please, Toei, Shimomiya, I am begging you, do not let anyone be related. We’ve got both time travel and amnesia going on in here already, we do not want you to go that route!

~~~~~

Swartz sees this from a nearby roof, and notes that her powers are getting stronger, and soon they’ll completely awaken.

Someone asks what will happen when they do.

~~~~~

Miyuko: **YELLS**

Miyuko: TSUKASA

Cressy: Tsukasa: Sup.

Miyuko: WERE YOU OFF GETTING LAID TSUKASA

Cressy: Look at that posture

Cressy: Daiki showed up.

Cressy: he def was.

~~~~~

Tsukasa: “So… you’re connected to that girl somehow. I’ve been doing some investigating…”

Swartz: “Oh, yeah, sure. Do what you want… If you can.” (he says in an ominous tone, ominously.)

Tsukasa: “Thanks. I’ll do just that.”

~~~~~

Back on the ground, Sougo… is getting his ass handed to him. But! He does have the realization that the speed PunchHopper and Gatack are moving at is similar to Geiz Revive Typhoon… and he’s figured out a way to counter that.

It used to be that he was only looking one move ahead when he used Zi-O II’s precog abilities.

He’s looking ahead three here.

Sougo knows he won’t be able to react in time for the first two strikes, but the third…

On the third he can time a strike of his own.

And he knocks PunchHopper down.

Gatack tries to finish him off – but a red blur takes the hit.

Another Kabuto has made his appearance, and it looks like he’s Sou Yaguruma, former alias KickHopper. He grabs PunchHopper, and nyooms right on out of there.

~~~~~

Miyuko: OH FUCK IT’S ONE FO THE HOPPER BROS

Cressy: OH MY GOD ANOTHER KABUTO IS ONE OF THE HOPPER BROS

Miyuko: KAGAMIII

Cressy: OR A WORM OF ONE OF THEM

Miyuko: IS IT TIME FOR HIM TO SUFFER (We saw one was a worm

Miyuko: (shame we uh

Miyuko: (remember the rider sona

~~~~~

(Miyuko’s at least watched some Kabuto, but not very far. I, on the other hand, have seen exactly none, and would have no idea which one we saw in the cold open.)

~~~~~

Now then, we jump to Kagami explaining the situation to Woz and Sougo at the shop, giving them a basic run down of who the Hell Brothers are, along with showing them pictures. Pictures of the terribly dated late ‘00’s Hot Topic discount bin wardrobes that those two wore.

Kagami: So, the PunchHopper is definitely a Worm mimicking the original.

Woz: How can you know?

~~~~~

Miyuko: Woz intensifies

Miyuko: “Pretty sure he’s dead.”

Cressy: “So, yeah, he’s dead, but. uh. Apparently not anymore.”

Miyuko: “Fuck if I know, guys.”

Miyuko: Shibuya!

Miyuko: FLASHBACK TO KABUTO

Cressy: “Also, it’s really weird that Shibuya exists again.”

Miyuko: “Wait what”

Miyuko: Sougo: :)

Miyuko: Woz: “THE FUCK?!”

~~~~~

So, yeah, the timelines are a mess here. In 1999, in Kabuto, Shibuya was destroyed by a meteorite – one carrying the Worms. It’s … incredibly intact here.

OH. DUUUHHHH. That’s why Woz was at the Hachiko Statue!

It’s at Shibuya station.

WOW, I feel dumb. I remembered who Hachiko was, but didn’t catch the link as to why Woz would be there until just now.

Also, Sougo, I get that you were born in 2000, but. Like. That was only one year later. I thought your only decent subject was history! If this happened in the current timeline, you ought to know about it!

~~~~~

At an overlook, Geiz finds Tsukuyomi, having been told about her using her time powers again, and she tells him that she remembered something. Her mother and father, and ‘another man’.

… wait SHIT I said that the seated man’s outfit looked a lot like Junichiro’s, didn’t I? ABORT MISSION! NO, NO, NO! CALL IT OFF! STOP THE RIDE, I WANNA GET OFF!

Tsukasa appears on the scene. “Hey, so. Do you want to take a look and see what was going on back there? I’m trying to find the source of why the fabric of space and time is getting holes poked in it, so if you want to come along…”

… Okay, so he says ‘distorted,’ according to the RT subs, but it amounts to the same thing.

Geiz thinks this is a terrible idea, but Tsukuyomi wants to know who she is. So she goes with him.

Er, Tsuka- Tsukasa? I think you are a poster child for ‘sometimes you are better off not knowing who you used to be’, just as much as you are for ‘don’t lean too hard into the world-destruction prophecies.’ You may want to rethink your stance on this.

Mind you, you’re also a shining example of ‘there’s no escaping destiny’ and ‘you can’t thwart stage one’, so I guess that ship has already sailed.

~~~~~

Miyuko: TSUKASA’S UP TO THINGS

Cressy: Tsukasa: “GUYS, QUIT FUCKING WITH THE TIMELINE. YOU’RE MAKING MY JOB AND THE DENLINER CREW’S JOBS THAT MUCH HARDER”

~~~~~

So, a quick call between Geiz and Sougo, and we switch back to the Sougo and Woz team. (Man, we’re really getting the groups together this week, aren’t we?)

They’re confronted by Kageyama – who, yes, is a Worm. And he admits it. But he still has the original Kageyama’s memories as a human, and he wants them to help his brother. Worm or human, he can’t stand to see Yaguruma as an Another Rider – as a monster. They’ve seen too much hell for him to want any more.

Woz: My lord, this is clearly a trap.

Sougo: You need to start trusting people, Woz. Besides, we want to help save Yaguruma, too, don’t we? :)

Except that that is not his usual ‘This is going fine!’ smile. That is a smile of ‘he knows what’s going on.’

… You know, So Okuno’s really grown into his role, here. I think he’ll be able to do pretty well once he graduates from Sougo.

(He’s grown into his role, if not his clothing. Seriously, wardrobe department, could you let him wear clothes that fit properly? Why was this whole ‘everything is minimum a size and a half too big’ thing a decision?)

ANYWAY. THIS is a good scene for the instrumental of Toki no Ouja.

Also, you can hear the belts and chains Kageyama’s wearing well before you see them.

~~~~~

A quick interlude to Junichiro, back at the shop, having just fixed a radio. He goes to make sure it’s actually fixed, and turns it to the news.

There’s a large meteor headed for the center of Tokyo. And it’s much larger than the previous ones that have hit.

…

WAIT WHAT

(cue shot of said meteor in space)

~~~~~

Miyuko: OH MY GOD THEY ARE GOING TO SPACE

~~~~~

And now, to a totally-not-suspicious definitely-not-a-trap perfectly-harmless warehouse.

Sougo: So, Yaguruma’s supposed to be in here, right? (proceeds to walk in, with his back towards the guy who literally calls himself one of the Hell Brothers, like an idiot)

KAGEYAMA GOES TO STRANGLE HIM FROM BEHIND. BECAUSE OF COURSE HE DOES.

But he doesn’t get to – because Kagami bodychecks him away.

Kagami: “Kid, NO! You’re too naive! Walking into a trap like this!”

Kageyama: “Ahahaha… I mean, yeah, it’s a trap, but it’s not for the brat.”

Another Kabuto SLAMS into Kagami.

Kageyama: “We’re after you.”

Kagami and Kageyama both transform.

~~~~~

Cressy: THANK YOU KAGAMI

Miyuko: Aw yiss

Miyuko: Shoutout to Mouri USING THE RETURNING LADS

Cressy: STRAIGHT INTO CAST OFF

Cressy: UNLIKE INOUE

~~~~~

PunchHopper LUNGES at Sougo, who is just standing there – there’s a clicking sound – and a massive surge of gravity slams PunchHopper to the ground. (cue Miyuko and I basically just shouting WHAT into the chat)

Oh my god. Turns out Woz’s attack is even more ridiculous than I’d thought. He’s allegedly channeling the gravity of 10,000 black holes, because that’s totally a thing that’s possible. … Meh, he’s got reinforcements from the armor, he’ll be fine.

Woz: Ah, yes, as expected of my overlord. Taking advantage of the enemies trap-

Sougo: Er, actually, I just wanted him to take me to Yaguruma. Now we just have to defeat the two of them. (goes to transform)

Everything starts to shake.

Oh, there’s that giant meteor!

Rider Time!

Zi-O! Fourze!

3! 2! 1! Fourze!

~~~~~

Miyuko: HE’S GOING TO

Miyuko: OH MY GOOOOD

Cressy: UCHUUU KITAAAAAAAAA

Miyuko: UCHUU IKUUUUU

Miyuko: Sougo pls

Cressy: FINE I’LL TAKE THE MESS UP

~~~~~

I mean, if it stops a GIANT METEOR FROM HITTING TOKYO? I don’t CARE if he gets the catchphrase wrong!

And it’s pretty close, anyway. Way better than his attempts at Ex-Aid’s and especially Build’s catchphrases.

~~~~~

Back to Gatack versus the Hell Brothers, who are soon joined by Woz.

Turns out, Yaguruma doesn’t care that Kageyama’s a Worm, since he’s the only one willing to be his partner.

After being tremendously outsped, and taking a few good blows, Woz unleashes an incredibly over-the-top finisher in the form of his Planetary Explosion. Yes, I know that’s not the actual name, but my computer’s autocorrect is a pain, and I’m not going to try typing out any of the forms that attacks real name can take. I don’t want to teach my computer that.

And there’s a huge explosion of flame, flames spreading across the floor… Woz gives a grandiose pair of quotes in a very Tendou style, down to the pointing. But a sound comes from ground zero of the attack.

A green suit drags itself into a standing position.

KickHopper: I don’t believe in the power of the universe… I only believe in the power of hell…

He lands a Rider Kick that Woz just manages to get a guard up in time to block. When Woz can look up… nobody’s there.

Geiz comes in… but none of the three returning characters are around anymore.

There is, however, a ‘message’. Someone’s left a package of instant bowl ramen, and a note, with one word.

“Hell.”

SO THAT’S NOT OMINOUS AS FUCK AT ALL.

~~~~~

Miyuko: “Wait, I’ve had this form one ep why am I being worfed”

Cressy: WELCOME TO BAD TIMES

Cressy: ON BOTH ENDS OF THE TIMELINE

~~~~~

A portal appears in the air, in 2058. Tsukuyomi and Tsukasa step out, to when she would have been 8 years old, into a ruined city.

With an incredibly ominous looking cloud front and thunderstorm off in the distance.

~~~~~

Back to 2019… Geiz… is in no position to do anything but leave the whole meteor thing to Sougo. A man in black, with copious chains, drags himself through the river below. “Did… someone laugh at me?”

Yaguruma, what are you doing there?

~~~~~

IT’S SPACE TIME!

Sougo’s ready! He can do this! He -

Did not realize how big that was actually going to be!

But he drills through the meteor with a Limit Time Break, shattering it… and also releasing a bunch of Worms that were in there into the vacuum of space.

Oh well.

Except that one wasn’t the real problem.

No, the real problem is that the grey meteor?

Is a pebble in comparison to the giant red one behind it.

Everything is very red in 2068.

~~~~~

Miyuko: THISISFINE

Miyuko: oh shit

Miyuko: IS THIS WHY THE EARTH IS FUCKED UP

Miyuko: SPAAACE

Miyuko: oh boy SOUGO PLS

Cressy: SOUGO BABBY

Miyuko: GEN WOULD BE SO PROUD

Cressy: DID YOU NOT REALIZE FROM HOW BIG IT SEEMED

Cressy: OBJECTS IN MIRROR-

Miyuko: HOLY SHIT

Miyuko: POSE

(He was pretty close, with the pose! It’s… probably easier in 0G, given Gens whole thing.)

Cressy: OH MY GOD HE DRILLED THROUGH A METEOR

Miyuko: OH NOOOOOOOO FUCK

Cressy: OH MY GOD THAT WAS A PEBBLE

Miyuko: OH NO OH NO OH NOOOOOOO

Miyuko: THIS IS WHY THE EARTH IS FUCKED IN 2068 ISN’T IT

Cressy: OH MY GOD THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED TO FUCK UP THE PLANET

Cressy: IT’S REMNANTS ALL OVER AGAIN. I AM HAVING K.A. APPLEGATE FLASHBACKS HERE

Miyuko: WELL BOY FUCKING HOWDY WHAT A ZI O. -oh god PLEASE LET THE KABUTO WATCH GO TO KAGAMI. PLEASE

Miyuko: But Damn that was toei making it up to us from last week huh

Cressy: OH YES

Miyuko: GOOD USE OF RETURNING ACTORS.

DRAMA

STAKES

SOUGO DRILLING A METEOR.

TSUKASA CAME BACK.

Cressy: Tsukasa: “It’s not technically spoilers if it’s your own past, right? Right. I could have used this sort of heads up.”

~~~~~

So! Yeah! We were! Basically just completely screaming after that!

This is a much better episode than the last two. Thank you, Mouri-san! THANK YOU!

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 38: The sun is a powerful thing

Here we go! Time to watch a show~!

Last time: Timeline snarls, the bad sort of Meteor, and worms. So many worms.

This time: … Hell bro’s if I know.

Spoilers for Zi-O 38 and Kabuto below the cut. Rest in piece, horizontal line - sections are divided by tildes now. ~

~

When last we saw our hero, he was Rocket Drilling a meteor into non-existence. And then the bigger one showed up. On the plus side, at least Sougo knows that “OH GOD THIS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO HIT THE EARTH.”

Also, apparently the Faiz Phone X works in space! Good to know!

~

Junichiro. That. Is not how you make emergency ration onigiri. You. You don’t need to include all the extras with them. Also, evacuate to where, exactly? It’s A METEOR.

Kudos for taking Woz’s comment about Sougo being in space in stride, though. (How much do you know, old man?!)

…Wait a minute. Does Junichiro not know Woz’s name? He didn’t use it when asking when Sougo was coming back.

Uncle, ffs. You’ve lost your name privileges again.

~

In the recap vault… Woz has what are presumably replicas of the three remaining watches – Drive, Kabuto, and Den-O.

(Why is Drive the last arc? Wouldn’t. Wouldn’t Den-O be more appropriate for the last Legend Rider? I mean, we’ve already gotten Yu Inaba back for the Brain special, so they could have filmed his section then, if he’s the guest appearance. But Den-O would just. Make more sense for the final watch, wouldn’t it?)

(wouldn’t it?)

~

We’ve got the Kabuto OP reference again! I really wish they had started using old musical cues sooner, as opposed to not doing so until Agito, because that would have helped make the earlier Legend arcs just a little better.

~

WOZ DID YOU DRAW THIS PLAN UP? This doodle is CUTE.

“Okay, so, you have a rocket, so get me into position, and I’ll use my Super Mode to blow up the asteroid.”

Sougo just. Goes with it. Doesn’t even ask if Woz’ll be okay. Can’t tell if that’s because he’s being dumb, if it’s because he’s preoccupied, or if it’s because he trusts that it’ll work out.

(Also, Woz having clearly made and eaten the ramen that the Hell brothers left behind with their ransom note is all sorts of hilarious.)

Sougo: “Wait, where’s Kagami?”

Woz: (shrug) “He might’ve been captured. Also, here’s this note we got from the edgelords.”

Note: (is a ransom letter)

Kagami: (IS VERY MUCH CAPTURED)

~

Geiz, no samehatting with the murdermen. Yaguruma’s “If it comes to it, I’ll be the one to take him down” is very different from your “If it comes to it, I’ll be the one to take him down.”

Also, good use of archival footage there.

Hey, does anyone know what Geiz’s ringtone is? It’s familiar, and I feel like it’s one of the belt jingles, but I can’t place it.

But anyway, Geiz hears that Kageyama’s done… something, and Yaguruma takes this opportunity to knock him down and zoom the heck out of there.

~

Cut to… oh. That’s. Fine. Kageyama has Arata chained to a post, with some suspicious piles of rocks placed nearby.

(That feel when Toei doesn’t quite hide the mortars for the explosions)

So… you guys are really just going to toss your space powers to the Worm, huh? That’s what we’re doin-

AHAHA YES

IT’S THE SUIKA SPRITE! I love that little guy’s machine gun. And then using the Search Hawk to cut the chains around Arata!

I like seeing the older gadgets and tech used again.

Also, RiderTime has decided that the jingle they’re going with for the Search Hawk is “This hawk can gawk,” which… Well, they’re not wrong!

Arata is loose, and goes straight into the cast-off version fo Gatack. Looks like he was going to go grab the watches using Clock Up, but Another Kabuto has other ideas.

He does not fair well at all, and is very quickly knocked out of this transformation.

~

At 9-to-5, we’ve got an after-fight debrief and patch-up session. Arata blames himself for not being good enough to stop the edgelord murdermen, but nobody else holds him to that.

I agree with Geiz, what are the Time Jackers thinking in contracting with this guy? I mean, not that Heure and Hora are usually thinking that far ahead in their choices, but I’d expect this one to be Swartz –

OH RIGHT. I just remembered that theory Miyuko and I came up with last week that the meteor – which is very, very red – is why 2068 is so messed up in the Oma Timeline. And since Swartz pretty clearly intends for Sougo to become Oma Zi-O…

Oh, and there’s a mention of Arata’s timeline and ‘our’ timeline getting ‘mixed up’, with a flashback to Tsukasa mentioning time and space getting distorted.

Keep in mind, Arata remembers Shibuya not exactly existing anymore, but it’s very much intact right now.

…Onore Time Travel.

~

AND IT TURNS OUT THAT HEURE IS JUST AS DISPLEASED WITH THE WHOLE METEOR THING AS THE GOOD GUYS!

“Making Hell on Earth is one thing, but we need to actually have an Earth, dude.”

Also, I love this? Heure pausing time in the rain – with a nice matching umbrella, too – is a good callback to not just the fact that TIME FREEZING IS OP, but also to Kabuto, what with the disrupting the raindrops as he moves. Which – oh man, it’s really cool to see that!

~

Heure is pissed to have to give the Fourze and Ginga watches back, but. Y’know. He’d rather not die to a giant meteor.

The thing is.

I don’t think that’s where Swartz is going with them.

~

Over to 2058, with Tsukuyomi and Tsukasa! Hooray! Lore time!

The very red 2058.

Seriously, that ‘worm meteor is what hecked up the lighting’ idea is looking more and more likely.

Looks like Tsukasa landed them outside where Tsukuyomi might have grown up. Aaaand has been cast as the chef.  

Tsukasa: “Eh. I’ve had weirder. I should tell you about the time I wound up being a salaryman the time I went to the world my husband came from. That sure was a day. And there was that time I was a head chef for BOARD. And the time I was a lawyer. And – okay, look, I have seen and done some things, kiddo.”

(My Decade watch is going well! The Kabuto arc was! Absolutely devastating! And so was Daiki’s!)

((I wonder what the odds are of the Den-O watch being as useless as the Den-O cards?))

So, once they reach the second story – a small girl in white starts questioning them.

A small girl in white, who looks an awful lot like Tsukuyomi.  

And is calling them ‘interveners’. I kind of think ‘meddler’ might be a better term here, but. Idk. She can tell they’ve traveled through time. And has an incredibly powerful Time Stop ability.

And calls a teenager in a black outfit her brother.  

An outfit that looks awfully familiar. Almost as if we’ve seen it before, in, say, 2009?

When they leave, and incidentally resume time, guess who’s coming up the stairs? Nah, not gonna make you guess, it’s our current Swartz. This is fine.

NOPE NEVER MIND THIS IS NOT FINE IN THE SLIGHTEST.

Swartz knocks Tsukasa into the yard – and that looked painful, Decade’s a veteran rider and he didn’t take that hit well – and…

Swartz… tosses the two stolen watches to Tsukuyomi, saying that without her power, they can’t stop the meteorite.

And that when hers and the god of times powers resonate, ‘a new era will arise’.  

RiderTime, I’m pretty sure he was just saying ‘king of time’, not ‘god’. But still. NOT GREAT STUFF GOING ON HERE.

Swartz what are you planning?

…

Well, at least he does not, in fact, want the meteorite to hit. Taking the watches to Tsukuyomi, as opposed to the boys, makes sure that they won’t try stopping it without her.

~

Tsukasa warps the two of them back to 2019, and OH RIGHT. They left WELL before the HUGE meteorite showed it’s ‘face’.

RUN TSUKUYOMI, RUN!

…

And. Oh.

HUH.

Tsukasa think’s he’s got what’s going on with her.

And Swartz isn’t quite certain that she’s his little sister.

Implying that his little sister disappeared, and he only suspects that she’s Tsukuyomi.

oh no.

~

And here we have Arata getting incredibly down on himself, for not having been Kabuto, for having never beaten Souji. Sougo, sweet boy that he is, asks him to protect people for him when he becomes King.

Of course, the intent was to reassure Arata, but, well. Even Souji never went the ‘king’ route, so laughter is what ensues.

~

Now, to a random rooftop, where Geiz and Woz are fighting against Another Kabuto and Punchhopper. …in their base forms.

Come on, guys. Really?

Well, at least the matched attacks knocked everyone out of their transformations, not just the good guys.

And here, some more exposition from Worm!Kageyama. Because he is a Worm, don’t forget that – and there’s a whole bunch more of them on the meteorite.

The others show up with the watches, and Sougo asks Arata if he can entrust the fight on the ground to him.

Arata: “Of course! My king!”

LIKE HE LITERALLY SAYS “OU-SAMA.”

THIS IS WHERE DEALING WITH SOUJI TENDO GETS YOU.

HE’S FINE WITH GOING WITH SOUGO’S ECCENTRICITIES.

Arata, no…

gasp.

GROUP TRANSFORMATION IS A GO!

And it’s not just a team transformation! It’s everyone, circling around the 6 combatants.

A call of ‘Henshin’ as we cycle by each in turn…

Arata starting his transformation, starting the Gatack Zecter.

Yaguruma starting his transformation, starting the Kickhopper Zecter.

Kageyama with the Punchhopper one.

Geiz going into Revive Fury.

Woz going into Ginga Finaly.

Sougo going into Fourze.

Then it keeps circling…

The Gatack armor forming, then Kickhopper, then Punchhopper. Geiz’s mask ‘label’ attaching itself. Woz. Zi-O Fourze.

Cast Off.

~

UCHUU IKUUUUU!

Ahahaha, Woz got in on the second half of that, too! Nice.

So, they’re in space now, right? And they have to drill into the meteor to get Woz in there, so he can destroy it.

So Sougo goes into Build armor.

Now, you might be thinking, “Mr. Mouri, but now he’s not in a space armor! Rider or not, that shouldn’t work!”

Except you’d be forgetting something.

We saw that Build – proper Build – can be used in Space.

Remember, Evolt warped him to another planet one time, proceeded to ‘absorb’ said planet, and Sento was breathing just fine in his armor.

So we’re actually still keeping true to the abilities of the Legend Rider’s technology.

Besides, he needs a drill.

~

YO, INSIDE THE METEOR, IS THAT THE KABUTO OP? OR AN INSERT FROM KABUTO?

I MEAN, IT’S GOTTA BE FROM KABUTO, RIGHT?

~

Okay, Rider Wiki says that Geiz’s ringtone is the standby music for Geiz Revive, but doesn’t say what the song used when Woz is switching into Sun Form is. It’s definitely not Next Level, though … did Woz just get an insert theme? Because it does sound a little like Keisuke Watanbe, now that I think about it.

~

Alright, alright, back to the episode.

FFS WE GET IT, KAGEYAMA. YOU’RE EDGY AND HATE YOURSELF.

“This is all I am...” Calm your studded tits, my dude. You got Rider Kicked once. It didn’t even knock you out of your normal transformation, you went into Another Kabuto on your own.

Oh-hohohoho niiiiiice.

Souji called himself the ‘man who walked the path of heaven’, and often, the heavens are represented by the sun.

The meteor moves past the sun, letting its rays shine down, as Arata proclaims that he’ll still fight, even though he’s just been kncked out of his transformation, and the Gatack Zecter has flown off to  where ever it is they go when they’re not in use.

A buzzing can be heard coming from the sky.

A mechanical red beetle zooms down out of the sun, flying around Arata’s head before landing in his hand.

The Kabuto Zecter.

He’s not being transformation-blocked by Souji anymore.

~

Geiz is still calling Kageyama out on his unwillingness to take Yaguruma down. The guy says ‘we will wander this earth together’… so Geiz takes matters into his own hands, and knocks Punchhopper out of his armor himself.

It takes a single Rider Kick from Arata – now finally allowed to be Kabuto – and the Another Kabuto Watch is destroyed.

~

Woz still hasn’t been able to burn through the meteor. It’s just TOO BIG. And they’re out of time.

Except that Time isn’t exactly a one way street in this season.

Time can be meddled with.

It can be stopped.

And Tsukuyomi’s already been shown to be able to stop just one thing… be it an Another Rider… or, potentially, a meteor.

With a gorgeous shower of lights, that’s exactly what she does.

And with the combination of her powers and the power of Zi-O Trinity, the meteor is shattered.

~

Yaguruma’s a mess. ‘Kageyama’ was never Kageyama, despite everyone using his name, and everyone was well aware of it. He doesn’t give Yaguruma the closure he wants.

“Please… call me aniki one more time…”

“I’m not Kageyama. I’m not your brother.”

And he goes out in green flames – having turned back to his true appearance. Having reverted to being a Worm.

…He sounded a little sad about not being Kageyama, actually, not just about his fellow Worms having all died. He sounded… resigned, almost.

Yaguruma wants them to laugh at him, for being so foolish to cling to the imitation of a dead man.

Geiz just apologizes.

He knows what it’s like to lose people. He knows that he can’t fulfill his promise of ‘if it comes down to it’, either.

This is not a person you want to be relating to, but… well, Geiz can’t really help it right now.

The Kabuto Zecter transforms into the Kabuto Ridewatch.

~

The triumphant instrumental version of Toki no Ouja plays as Arata entrusts Sougo with the ridewatch…

And as Geiz asks what Tsukuyomi and Tsukasa found out.

She doesn’t answer – says that they didn’t find anything.

That’s fair.

Of course, the music cuts out as we find out that Uncle got a little carried away with his onigiri. To the point of making 16 each.

Sir. Sir, please.

A train whistle sounds.

Sougo recognizes it.

Sounds like HeiGen Forever’s canon, after all.

~

The preview… has arrived!

As has Momo!Geiz!

Man, Momotaros doesn’t even have to change anything about Geiz’s appearance other than the hair, does he?

RYUUTAROS GET OUT OF UNCLE. YOU ARE A CHILD. HE IS AN OLD MAN.

…The Another Den-O suit is back.

Which, well, it makes sense – we usually need to have the Another Rider present to make the ridewatch, and we already knew that different people can be turned into pre-existing Another Riders. (Thanks, Another Zi-O. Whatever happened to that watch that refused to break?) But it’s still unsettling.

We’ve got both the Core Four Imajin and the Yuuto and Deneb team!

Nice.

They’re here to stop the Worst Future.

Sougo’s not letting someone stop something.

AND GRAND IS THE MOST GAUDY FUCKING THING. THAT WATCH IS APPALLING.

~

GRAND IS A MESS. MAYBE I’LL LIKE IT BETTER IN MOTION. MAYBE I WON’T.

(I probably won’t.)

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 29-30: Blade spoilers within (from someone who has NOT watched Blade)

Ha! Black!Woz walks out of the Storytime vault and into 9-to-5.

White!Woz: Haha sweet I get to choose Another Blade

Swartz: Hey, what do you think of being a person who gets used… you know, hypothetically speaking…

White!Woz: ...ah. Well. Shit.  

(We continue this super spoiler-iffic liveblog under the cut. It gets long - this one made it to about 3,000 words. My apologies to mobile users. Just... scroll. Scroll like your life depends on it.)

Awww… the café from Blade has photos from back then on the counter, that’s so sweet. And Amane’s actually wearing the recent necklace for Chalice – that’s a really nice touch there, Toei. Product placement, but it’s a really nice tribute.

Another Blade’s design is – that’s terrifying, that’s a lot of knifes. I like how the spade symbol glows red, and it doesn’t have the ‘handle’ part of a spade. It’s a heart, too. But the thing is… this is the second Another Rider to not have the lens-eyes. Everyone up to Another Zi-O had them, and he notably didn’t.

I know people have been saying they’re proud of Sougo for managing to graduate, and I agree. I really do. I’m happy for our book-dumb protagonist. It’s actually kind of nice to see all four of the ‘team’ together. You know, for certain definitions of ‘team’.

Noting here the Tsukuyomi hasn’t told Sougo that his ‘dream’ was. Not actually a dream, so much as a memory. It makes sense that a small 8-year-old reality warper would take the trauma of something like what Swartz did, and assume the first time he saw it was a nightmare, too.

(Seriously, screw that guy.)

Okay, so, I have not watched Decade, but… from the two (2) films I’ve seen with his cast – WxDecade and the first Hero Taisen movie – this seems to be pretty damned in-character for this Daiki guy. “Lol sup hi just saying hello don’t mind me” *proceeds to steal all your transformation trinkets*

Case in point… Sougo and Geiz don’t notice their personal watches are missing until they go to activate the button on the side. Not when they don’t pull anything out – no, when they go to turn them on. Boys. Boys please.

Also, can I just say that I’m starting to see why people pair Tsukasa and Daiki? I mean, the guy came out in a ~magenta~ apron. And they’re both little shits.

Sougo just shoves Woz in front of them. Woz!Kikai is so OP, oh my god. First the mind control thing when it debuted, the satellite dish lasers in Another Zi-O, and now it has extendable robot arms to grab the watches back. Oh my god.

(Kaito, suddenly copied into another existance as Baron: GFDI just let me be a tree spirit already)

(I know it’s a doppelganger, but seriously. So many Barons. So little patience on his end for people constantly trying to revive him as a pawn.) 

Sougo: Okay, so, you guys’s past is my future, and since it’s 2019, anything that happens in 2068 is the future now, so aren’t you talking about things that haven’t happened yet?

Woz: My lord, please, verb tenses get complicated enough without you speaking.

OOF. Yeah, uh, there’s gonna be a. A few problems with Blade ‘2019’. Namely that he isn’t supposed to be in, like. Japan. Ever again. Because Bad Things Happen when he is around fellow Undead. (He made an exception for Gorider, because a certain zombie f*er was stealing his gig, and poorly at that.

((Am I saying that he’s an asshole who is also a zombie, or that he would do a zombie? … Both. I’m saying both.))

Sougo: Okay, so, we need one person who can fight on both ends, and really, if a team is going after Geiz’s watch, it ought to include Geiz, and you guys want me to go after the Another Riders, so of course the groups are me with Tusukyomi, and Geiz with Woz! :) It’s only rational! :) And if you happen to work out whatever’s going on between you, well, that’s just a bonus, isn’t it? :)

Geiz: ...if I kill him, it’s your fault, you know.

Tsukuyomi: This is a terrible idea.

Sougo: I know! :)

(gasp) Dark Toei is giving us the forbidden rebel backstory!

Oh goody Woz was the leader of their team! And he said he was going to ‘infiltrate’ Oma Zi-O’s camp! And everyone died because he seems to have switched sides. Delightful.

White!Woz: Excuse me? I see a pair of powerups here, but not the one I specifically requested you get.

Daiki: Lol you mad?

White!Woz: ...fight us irl bitch.

Daiki: Heh.

Huh… So… when White!Woz’s tablet makes someone do something, they’re supposed to hear his ‘narration’… and maybe that’s a recent idea from the team, but. When it seemed that he was compelling Sougo to come after him – I can’t remember when, it was during either Shinobi or Quiz, but Sougo and Black!Woz were talking in 9-to-5, and he summoned Sougo away, that didn’t happen. Hm.

Sougo: Dang, couldn’t even knock the watch out temporarily. Drat.

Hm. Regulus is showing up in the daytime now… and so is the rest of the constellation. That can’t be good.

Oooh, nifty. Another Blade has the inverted heart for Chalice on her torso, but the spade for Blade on her. Well, blade. As well as a circular saw, which is a bit overkill when you consider the literal knives sticking up from her shoulders.

Oh, hey, remember that theory about how the Another Riders are technically the enemy that each rider fought? Like how Another Gaim opened cracks into the Helheim forest, and Another OOO bled Cell Medals like a Greeed?

And remember why Kenzaki can never return to Japan?

Undead are drawn to fight each other.

Okay, I get why a speed versus speed battle, to counter Woz!Shinobi, would wind up with Diend summoning Accel. But why Birth? Date’s version was never particularly fast – he’s more of a Mighty Glacier. And the suit isn’t really intended for speed, since Gotou was only particularly speedy when he used the Cutter Wing ‘attachment’.

And then I am immediately answered. Bike juggling to get Woz into the air, so that ‘Birth’ can shoot him down without mercy. (Was reminding us of the bike form really necessary? Was it? I don’t think it was. I could have done without seeing that in-action again.)

Diend: Wow, that’s cold, even for me, watching your friend get beat up like that.

Geiz: Bold of you to assume we’re friends. He’s a born liar. I mean, he’s using a ninja form right now.

Geiz: Yeah, no, Woz, screw you. I know you wanted a distraction. Asshole.

Diend: Aw, look, they do like each other.

OH THANK COSMOS it’s Chalice Versus Zi-O. ...for now. There’s about minutes left for everything to go terribly, terribly wrong. (Because Blade.)

And then it immediately went terribly, terribly, wrong.

Kenzaki and Hajime haven’t transformed in years, because they can’t. They would feel each other’s power, seek each other out, and be forced to fight. Probably the only time Blade has reappeared was in a slightly-alternate reality. (shakes fist at Gorider). And Kenzaki looks absolutely terrible. How did you get here so fast, sir? That jacket has clearly seen far better days, is the damage recent?

Some excellent ‘teamwork’ on Geiz and Black!Woz’s parts – using Shinobi’s finisher to get the two targets in one spot for Geiz’s finisher. Clever. Pity that the other two watches aren’t here.

And with that, and some brutal slashes exchanged between Blade and Chalice…

we move to episode 30.

The power-up watches get all electro-staticy, and try to start a chain reaction with White!Woz, but it doesn’t hold up. Hm.

Geiz: What’s your issue?!

Diend: Looking for my boyfriend-rival. No big deal.

Oh man, neither of them want to be in this fight, but they don’t have a choice. Zi-O accidentally knocks Another Blade into the line of fire for Actual Blade’s finisher, so naturally Chalice steps in to try and take the hit.

It doesn’t… technically work. She still gets knocked out of her transformation, back to Amane, and he’s still in his armor.

Kenzaki: oh god oh shit what the hell?! Amane?! what’s going on oh shit

Woz’s storytime vault…

Oh… The Day of Oma is apparently meant for Sougo to stop the end of the world… apparently as brought on by the Battle Fight.

… Rider versus Rider, right? A pair of Riders who can’t coexist, but also can’t not coexist. And yet another who is supposedly erasing all Riders from history. Starting with the primary members of each group. So… if Blade goes, the world goes. If Chalice goes, the world goes. If they both go, Oma Zi-O rises.

“An interesting game, Professor. The only way to win is not to play.”

Zi-O II’s shot in the opening has been replaced by Zi-O Trinity.

Geiz can relate pretty hard to Kenzaki’s resignation to having to fight Hajime, but also to his desperately not wanting to do that thing.

Once again, we have the question of “What is the future you are aiming for?” The question of “And then what?”

Geiz wants to see the one that Sougo – that they will create.

<3

Junichiro: Hey, what are your plans for the new era?

Sougo: ...Uncle, you have no idea how loaded that question is with this group.

(or does he?)

Hey, that camera’s a clue in more ways than one, isn’t it? Another Blade was attacking photo studios, because Hajime’s a photographer. But that camera’s awfully similar to Tsukasas. Who asked you to repair, that, I wonder…?

Yeah, Woz, you’re kind of being a hypocrite here. Criticizing a woman for wanting to reconnect with an old friend/mentor, while unable to get over the urge to lord over having been Geiz’s superior. GEIZ has a point in his anger. WOZ is just being an ass. And Sougo hones directly in on this.

Kid’s got a decent Charisma stat, too.

When Amane picks up the photos, through to when Kenzaki calls for Hajime. That! The Background!

I think that’s a piano ballad version of “Zi-O: King of Time”!

OST when?

And, also, can we get another instance of Future Soldier in-show anytime soon?

Okay, okay, sorry, back to the show.

OH NOOOO.

Firstly, White!Woz summons the two into a fight.

Then he forcibly activates the Another Blade watch inside of Amane.

The transformation has a screen with Another Blade’s face appear and move over her, just like the card that appears when Kenzaki transforms.

Ow, my heart.

OH SHIT RIGHT.

These two episodes have made no effort to hide the green blood that both Kenzaki and Hajime have – from the miscolored bruises to actual bloodstains. And Undead can be ‘sealed’ away – that’s where the Rouze cards come from in the first place. Another Blade – no. Amane doesn’t want them to fight – doesn’t want them to have to fight. So she seals their powers. Their emblems move onto the Another Blade… armor, I guess is as good a word as any.

And now their wounds are red.

But she just took the powers of two Jokers, absorbing them into one person. Leaving one person with the Joker designation.

Herself.

Please note that I typed this immediately before restarting, only to watch the Sealing Stone appear.

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and nobody feels fine.

Oh, the cinematography of this show. A beam visually separating Sougo and White!Woz from their angles on the stairs – it’s going the opposite direction, making an x with the handrail behind them.

We’re back to the question of “And then what?”.

White!Woz’s future is gone, the potential isn’t there anymore, so he’d rather there not be a future at all. I guess we’ll never see if my ‘a future frozen in an endless moment’ theory was right. Pity. I was wondering if they would go that route for him.

Oooh, an orchestral version of ‘Zi-O: King of Time’!

“You can’t just give up! What’s the use in assuming that it’s over?” Sougo is cheering on even his enemy this boy is not nearly as dark as he assumed in the Ryuki arc, oh my goodness. “You can’t say that any one future is set in stone, so keep trying, keep opposing us! I’ll... No. We’ll keep foiling your plans, but you can’t just give up on the world.”

And the orchestral theme just keeps rising in the background.

Oh… and Sougo said the same thing to Woz. Geiz says that he can’t stand living in the past. And, like I guessed last episode, in like, the fourth section of this liveblog… The past that they’ve lived is, technically, still in the future from where they are now. From Sougo’s perspective, and from the perspective of time itself, none of that has happened yet.

Besides, like Geiz is saying, they came to the past to change history anyway. They’re making a new future, all of them – Sougo, Tsukuyomi, and Geiz… and Woz.

“Do you want in?”

“… That sounds interesting.”

Hm. The Trinity watch – which is somehow successfully created by White!Woz – has all three of the current Belt Voices, doesn’t it? The two that the Ziku Driver uses and the high-pitched one from the BeyonDriver.

“If you use this, I will accept it.”

… accept what? The option to create a new future? The future that Sougo’s aiming for?

Nifty – the light from Regulus and the Day of Oma burns out the clouds from the Sealing Stone.

Pffft - ‘the light is guiding us’ no, no it’s not so much that…

(I love the ‘wtf is going on’ faces from Kenzaki and Hajime)

GEEZ Trinity’s basically a mini-Sentai mech, with all three of them in one place inside.

“Guys, no, I’m sorry, I know none of us know what is going on, but I have to take control for a second, I have to do my speech okay, it’s in my contract. This is not optional.”

I like how the hand on the clock moves to point to whoever’s in control of the body.

I really like how Trinity forms all of their weapons – and how they dissolve when discarded. Nice touch.

And I really like the triumphant section of ‘King of Time’ playing behind this fight.

...Regulus is shining still, brighter than before. With a ‘shine’ of pink, yellow, and green. Their colors.

“Why did you choose to let me stay?”

“Because I think you have more potential.”

White!Woz accepts that ‘his’ world will never exist, and that Sougo will create a better one. He goes out peacefully, and warning Black!Woz – no. Warning Woz that Sir Swartz is planning more than they know.

He goes out with a shimmer of golden motes of light, and the glitching effects that have been a key sign of time re-writing an existence.

Oma Zi-O: You’re almost done… only six more until you’re me.

Sougo: But what I don’t want to?

Daiki yoinked the Future Note. Show off.

Which, of course, creates a slight problem for me and my potential ‘fix it’ of Zi-O, down the line in the Re-United ‘verse. Or, rather, a complication.

See, the draft I’ve got has at minimum one of the Den-O’s and Zeronos ferrying Riders back and forth. THAT is how I plan to deal with the amnesia issue. Not warning them in the present and past, like I had planned. But having the ‘contemporary’ versions of them just. Sorta travel backward, and pretend that they’re the ones that from in the past. Just… ya know, keep their past selves unaware of what’s going on, take the brunt of temporary power removal. Fill in for themselves when Zi-O and Geiz meet them.

And I had everyone scheduling this from Tsukasa having somehow duplicated Black!Woz’s book when he grabbed it during the Ghost arc. I have never seen Decade, and have no idea if that would even be part of his powerset. But, like, Trinity just knocked off his ability to turn Riders into weapons and stuff, so. Ya know.

I’m apparently not that far off, if I can work Daiki into it. … need to watch Den-O and Decade first, but that’s just how it goes.

The complication is my stated ‘not wanting to touch on Zi-O’ aspect. I now admit that I want to handle it somehow, but if they keep airing concepts similar to ones I’ve been working on for months, I’m going to get accused of lying.

Arceus, Cosmos, and Gaim DAMNIT.

Of course, you may have noticed I skipped a scene there during the re-cap.

Because not for the first time, something has been saved by Zi-O taking powers away. I’m still decidedly not here for the amnesia concept, and I am not okay with the fact that certain characters have potentially been un-created – Ankh, Parad, Poppy and the like among them – but here’s the thing.

Both Kenzaki and Hajime remember being Blade and Chalice. They can properly retire – They’re both bleeding red. Hajime was never human to start with – he was using the Spirit card to be human. But he seems to be human now. The Blade and Chalice watches appear to have taken their Joker situation out of the picture.

Like how his intervention by introducing the father to Emu, who clearly went on to point him to Hiiro, saved the son during the Ex-Aid arc.

Like how the girls would have never gone missing during the Fourze and Faiz arc, to say nothing of Takumi and Kusaka being decidedly more alive than usual.

Like how Kaito also appears to be alive again after the Gaim arc.

And how neither the girl or her brother died in the Ghost arc.

How Rentaro can become Shinobi in a newly created potential future.

How Mondo got to meet his father.

… admittedly, his apparently re-creating the events of Ryuki might be a problem. I haven’t had a chance to watch any of the RIDER TIME specials, but I hear that’s what happened? Sorry, Shinji.

But here’s the thing. A not-insignificant number of things have turned out for the better… and as long as the ‘you were never riders’ thing can be… worked around…

Hmn.

((also, just a quick note, if you comment on any of the sections in here, I’d really appreciate it if you specify which statements you’re talking about. These recaps get really long, so... y’know, it’ll make it a little easier for a conversation.))

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O Ep 36: Let’s mix it up a little!

So, I did things a little differently this week. Me and @miyukomatsuda​ were watching Marcosatsu’s History of Kabuto vid, and she suggested we watch Zi-O 36 together., too, since watching this alone my first time through would have been AWFUL. So, my notes might be a little. Weird this time around. I’m going to try to transcribe my chat with her in here.

*Fair warning, it gets a little... swear-y in here this time. Also, sorry for the length. Chats do that, and this is condensed down.*

(M is Miyuko, S is me.)

M: wanna try suffering through zi o

S: sure, just give me a couple minutes to get something

M: (thumbsup emoji)

S: how do we want to do this?

M: this should work. and if in doubt we both have the ep downloaded

- (insert cut here) -

M: Ginga. What is you

S: SPACE MAN

M: -suddenly here

S: WAIT NO THATS GEN

S: ahahaha “his power is worlds beyond us”

M: 13 THIS IS ON YOU

S: DECADE THIS IS ON YOU

M: Woz: “fuck if I know guys”

M: 13 AND DECADE THIS ON YOU

[there’s a whole group chat thing about a Doctor Who / Kamen Rider crossover universe, so the whole ‘Ginga’s from some other far off region of space-time’ thing brought it back up]

S: Swartz: FUCKING SWEET - whoops no Swartz is pissed never mind

M: *sweet new toy*

M: Woz: >:(

S: “world is /mine/ to destroy”

M: hahahaha

M: Woz: >:|

M: (dancing emoji, because we hit the OP)

M: I still think the statues are gonna unstatue in show

S: over quartzer is a JAM (don’t mind me, singing along)

M: that’s a MATH BREAKS THE WALLS level weird

M: (same hat) Rider music is top tier.

[title card, “2019: First Love, Finaly!”]

S: first kokoros

M: okay yuko.

M: LAYING IT ON A WEEE BIT THICK THERE MY DUDE

[swartz was sucking up to Yuko for her assistance w/ Ginga]

S: hora’s so tired of this

M: if he is a servant to oma zi o-explains a lot

M: TIME FOR BOWING

M: ofc woz is second

S: ahaha he just yoinks hora and heure

S: everyone drags geiz

M: YANK HIM DOWN

M: FORCES HIS KIDS DOWN

M: AND THEY JUST SLAM GEIZ DOWN

S: hve to shove him and hora download

M: JUST FUCKING LEAVES

S: woz and swartz are first to drop to their knees

S: WOW SCREW THIS LADY

M: of course woz does this

M: AND NOW FOR: INOUE IS SEXIST

M: heure laughing at swartz tho

S: HEURE GET OUT OF THERE

M: RUN KID

S: YOU CAN DO SO MUCH BETTER

M: Woz: MajoOu

S: WOZ NO

M: me: :)  (I KNEW IT!)

S: horny on main for evil

S: sougo’s kingdom to know why he betrayed the rebellion

M: SOUGO: GET YOUR HEART OUT OF YOUR PANTS YOU DUMB KITTY

S: SOUGO NO

S: YOU KNOW LIKE NYA

M: AND THEN SHE LIES TO HIM. LIAR

S: BLATANTLY NOT HER

M: Sougo you DUMB KITTY -SOUGO I AM FUCKING KINK SHAMING YOU

S: sougo ffs

M: INOUEEEEEE

M: Geiz is gonna kill him for real

S: uncle’s so confused

M: poor uncle

[miyuko had to go get food at this point]

M: IWAE I RETURN

S: IAWAE

M: Also Uncle: IT’S A MIRACLE

S: “screw this ginga guy, I don’t give a f. i’mma queen now”

S: the fact swartz actually thought this would work when she already hated him

M: that’s hilarious

M: Woz in the straightest he’s acted all season

S: sougo is a stupid stupid cat. surprised he’s never gotten his head stuck in a box

M: incredibly dumb kitty

M: SOUGO PUT DOWN THAT MILK. IT’S STUPID JUICE

S: ...i wonder if someone’s drawn that now actually after this arc

M: i’ve seen sougo with kitty ears-

M: UNCLE

S: NYA

M: GEIZ TRIES TO FLEE THIS BAD EP

M: Sougo you DUMB Kitty

S: sougo why do you know she had a bf in ‘08? you met her a long time before that.

[I was wrong, he met her in ‘08, she did the violence in ‘15]

M: Those poor extras on the stairs

S: GINGA RETURNS. KILLIN ERRYONE

M: TO TORMENT A STRIP MALL

S: ahahahah that’s hilarious

[I was talking about the fact that it’s just a freaking strip mall, not the fact that Ginga was destroying EVERYTHING]

M: also: something I noticed

S: that’s a fucking showa era attack name if I every heard one [Dynamite Sunshine]

M: thanks to a youtube comp of woz’s speech... Woz does the energy blast that our main three time jackers do

S: fourze and faiz pt 1

M: yeah!

S: one does not interupt his overlord’s transformation

M: I think woz is a time jacker.

S: also he kicked geiz’s ass in wizard pt 1

M: And of course bastard man is fine while his cohorts get blown back

S: b/c he’s too OP

M: SOUGO NO. SOUGO YOU DUMB KITTY

S: also evidence for woz being a time jacker: Hat!Woz called Swartz ‘Sir Swartz’

S: FFS SOUGO [when he took the hit for Yuko]

M: (yeah!)

M: also. JIRO

M: JIRO WHY

S: Woof. awoo

M: [don’t awoo, $350 penalty sign]

S: :sad wolf:

M: HE’S SOLAR POWERED [re: Ginga]

M: oh hey otoya violin

S: EVIL KIKAI

M: SOUGO GET YOUR HEART AND YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR PANTS

S: Sougo you stupid, stupid cat, she’s just got a ruler complex

M: YOU DUMB KITTY WHO I AM KINK SHAMING

[re: sougo calling her Miss Sailor, because that’s what he’s always called his crush]

S: it’s just your nickname for her anyway, she wouldn’t have known it even if it IS her

S: She’d be in charge sougo. you’d be the consort

M: HIS FACE

S: “WHOOPS”

M: Canon sougo: “OH SHIT I FORGOT ABOUT CHILDREN”

S: “FORGOT ABOUT THE HEIR PART”

[lost some more of the chat. Couldn’t quite screencap it because Rabbit disagreed with keeping the chat where I scrolled to]

S: GOODBYE

M: YEET. TIME FOR A FIGHT

S: AWOOOO

S: so like where did she GET these three? And why does this only this one seem to be aware

M: I think it’s SUPPOESD to be the real vers and they just serve Kiva

S: It’s *probably* him.

S: True, Kiva’s a title, isn’t it? Like hibiki.

S: also PRIME time to pause that wow [Jiro saying “Men become more refined through pain.”]

M: OF COURSE. INOUEEEEE

M: BYE JIRO YOU WERE POINTLESS

S: INOUE NO

S: FAREWELL PUPPER

M: oh hey the bf

M: “scary”

S: understatement of the era

M: OF COURSE

M: Geiz now has to see a murder

M: MANHOLE. Which note she can barely lift. JFC

S: YUKO NO

S: SHE TRAINED LATER

M: WAHT THE FUCK LADY

S: AND LEARNS TO KICK THEM UP. IN HEELS

M: Poor Tetsuya

S: SHE DID A MURDER

M: WHY WOULD YOU HANG OUT TOGETHER JFC

S: you idiots you made it easier for her

M: YEET. RIP ALL THREE OF THESE DUDES.

S: yooooo.

M: SORRY YOU WON’T GET PAID FOR WATCH REPAIR JUNICHIRO

M: SOUGO YOU ABSOLUTE DUMB KITTY

S: I like how the Another Kiva transformation includes the bats instead of just the usual Another Rider special effects

[on to the last fight against Ginga]

M: Ey! TOKI NO OUJA

S: YES [it’s actually the instrumental used as a fight music, but it’s still always nice to hear. I like noting the piano versions more, though. The ones that are used for atmosphere]

M: YEET! THIS MAKES EVEN LESS SENSE THAN NORMAL

S: WHEN IN DOUBT, THROW THE SWORD. THROWING YOUR SWORD ALWAYS WORKS.

M: SURE WHY NOT

[seriously, Sougo, Geiz, and Woz all threw their weapons at Ginga, then rider kicked said weapons into his chest as the finisher. wtf]

S: beams the hell out of there

[Woz nabs the Ginga watch with his scarf]

M: YOINK

M: “I CAN’T TRINITY ANYMORE”

S: Swartz: YOINK GOT YOUR- HOLD UP

S: Woz: “I CAN’T KEEP DOING THAT”

M: the real reason Woz did this is clearly: “FUCK YOU I AM NOT BODYSHARING AGAIN”

S: “Waga Maou I adore you but. No. I can’t do this again.

M: also lbr SWARTZ WOULD BE TERRIFYING WITH GINGA’S POWER

M: JFC LADY, HE **DUMPED** YOU

S: Swartz is terrifying with his OWN power

M: SOUGO PLS STOP WITH THE STUPID JUICE

S: SOUGO

M: SOUGO AND JON BOTH DRANK STUPID JUICE THIS WEEK

S: at least he’s *kind of* willing to fight her.

M: AT LEAST JON MANNED UP AND KILLED DANY

S: okay only kind of

M: Woz: “FUCK THIS, MY TURN”

S: he pulled out the watch at least

S: UCHUU KITAA

M: :D  HE ABRIDGED

S: WOZ

M: I hope he makes the full speech next time :D

S: GOTTA CUT IT SHORT

M: (I love woz’s speeches)

S: waga maou is being a moron

M: OKAY

S: don’t have time for this

M: Woz: **FUCK THIS I ROLL TO USE GINGA**

M: everyone: **THANK YOU**

[for ref, Miyuko has an AU where the Heisei Rider seasons are D&D campaigns]

M: -SO MANY QUESTIONS

S: and they just turn back into their weapon forms

M: yeah

S: not even disappear,  just the weapons again

M: they uh kind of got sealed in their-

M: STOP

M: INOUE

S: INOUE, Another Riders don’t DIE

M: **THANK FUCK** BUT ALSO INOUE

S: OH WAIT IT’S HORA

S: BANG

M: GOOD RIDDENCE

S: I MEAN SHE HAD IT COMING BUT

M: :(

M: INOUEEEEEE

M: first heartbreak, WOZ PLS

M: toki no ouja

S: HEY WE NEVER HAD THE RECAP EARLIER

M: INOUEEEE

M: SHE RUINED PIE FOR HIM

S: om nom pie

M: WOZ JUST INHALING PIE

S: YOINKING YOUR PIE (respect the pie)

M: GEIZ NEARLY CHOKING THIS TIME (Woz choked on pie TWICE last time)

M: SOUGO’S REAL FIRST LOVE AS PLAYED BY YURI FROM KIVA

M: -oh my fucking god he’s a cat jfc

S: sougo. no. sweetie.

M: Tsukuyomi are you the only women who didn’t know this would work

M: NEXT TIME

M: OKAY

S: Decade: STOP THAT

S: Decade: I am the multiverses janitor

M: well if tendou can’t come back might as well get his successor to arrogance

S: ahahahah

M: DO YOU SEE WY I WARNED YOU ABOUT THE CRINGE JFC

S: YEAH

M: INOUE WHAT THE FUCK

S: WOW. NOT GREAT

M: THAT IS NOT AN EP TO WATCH ALONE

S: MY NOTES WOULD HAVE JUST BEEN “uuuggghghh”

M: that was me watching

M: I GIFFED parts because of how bad it was and I need people to KNOW in chat

S: this was. Bad. So bad. neither villain did well

M: nope

S: just yeet ginga back off into space

M: rider wikia says we learn ginga lore next time too so HERE’S FUCKING HOPING

S: Thats something

M: and yuko just got TRASHED

S: RIGHT BECAUSE METEORITE AND SPACE

M: SHE DIDN’T NEED TO BE INSANE INOUE

S: AND HE’S FROM SPACE

M: Ginga also means Galaxy

S: ye, I know

M: ye. Themeing.  -also

S: SPACE MAN

M: has sougo not used fourze armor before now because I thought he did

M: WHY IS SOUGO UCHU KITA-ING

S: he’s used it in it’s debut

M: **SOUGO WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO GENTARO**

S: and then in the mass fight against the Another Riders in the Another ZiO arc. but that’s it

M: yeah! Ty

M: SOUGO WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO GENTARO NOW WHY IS THAT IN THE PREVIEW-

M: oh my god

S: much like gatakiriba, it would probably murder the CG budget

M: he’s going to fucking space.

M: THEY’RE GOING TO FUCKING SPCAE ARNE’T THEY

S: the zi-o Fourze finisher is him just. Armoring up and BEING the rocket. It was ridiculous.

M: YEP. I love it!

S: goes all Snipe Level One on the monster, spinning like a bullet

M: YUP. Remember him fucking up build’s catch phrase AND math

S: even Ryuuga knew he was getting it wrong. that takes “skill”

M: WHEN EVEN THE BF KNOWS

S: we should have seen babby reality warper coming when he used Ex-Aid and took the speciall effects and threw them at the Another Rider

M: yep

S: ~casual reminder that zi o can be read as ‘character king’~

M: (eyes emoji)

S: ~as in written character~

So, over all… NOT A GOOD EPISODE. I basically went from assorted variants of “Eh” to “ugh why this” throughout. This was definitely a low point on the ‘tribute episodes’ scale, and that’s taking the character assassination from the Build arc into account.

[firebirdsdaughter]

This is still ‘soon’…

… Right?

So! Let’s look at subbed Ryusoulger nigh immediately after raw Ryusoulger.

… Huh. I’m not sure about that sentence.

So, I got into one of my theory rambles at the end of this. In case anyone wants to just skip to the end and avoid the nonsensical bullet points. XD

In no order:

I love the angsty edgy bros w/ my whole heart and no one can stop me.

Touwa definitely sounds a little… I dunno, wistful? I really think he is lonely, and too read too much between the lines, this sort of seems to me like he may not know about the betrayal thing. I guess it just kind of seemed like there was an edge of questioning about it? Like he’s bringing up the topic of ‘friends’ in an effort to probe his brother’s reasons for being so against it? … Probably overthinking it.

Kou inconveniently makes a noise before I can learn anything about Banba’s opinion on the word ‘friends.’ Damnit, Kou. If you weren’t so cute…

He’s so happy, gods love him. Banba just stares incredulously at him, but Touwa rolls his eyes. Definitely the more expressive of the two. ^^

Banba does let Kou back up quite promptly, though. He may not trust people or want to work w/ them, but he’s not outright hostile, at least.

Important facts: Melto now gets to eat a banana w/out having to worry about being incriminated.

Kou just takes things, does he. XD There’s his mischievous side. ^^ Though I guess he did have a reason, and it was a clever tactic to get the other two’s attention.

Banba is somewhere offscreen like ‘damnit, Touwa, don’t make promises I don’t want to keep!’

Kou’s awkward ‘wait, this isn’t mine…’ moment when Touwa says he’d have to give them the map. XD

Okay. I love all these kids, and they’re all doing great. But what gets me in the opening shot of all of them screaming is that Tatsuya, Ichika, and Tsuna are all just going for it w/ the tragic drama, while Yuito and Hayate… Maybe it’s bc there’s no other context but they both kinda look like they’re almost smiling to me? Weird, I know. And probably just me.

And the problem children are officially at it. XD Drama babies.

I still don’t understand why the hell Touwa knows about that. Have you been hanging out w/ business men? Does Kou even know, for that matter?

I love Kou being super impressed until Touwa claims he won. It’s so adorable. ‘Wow, you’re actually really good––no, wait!’

Ah, Touwa acts all indifferent, but I think he’s definitely enjoying this. Kinda seemed like he suddenly realised he was having fun and immediately tried to backtrack. Like, really, when was the last time he got to behave like a kid? Like, we know Banba loves him, and I’m sure they played as children, but it’s a little different––probably esp after Banba started shutting himself off, depending on when that happened. Gah. It’s hard to explain. Like, why there’s the whole thing about how it’s good for children to play w/ kids their own age, and stuff like that.

They both keep doing the same thing. XD You boys are so similar. ^^ … Banba is going to kill you both.

The little green dancing knights and the little black dancing knights overlapped and it’s CUTE.

I CAN’T WAIT FOR THE FULL TEAM ROLLCALL I WILL CRY.

Poor Kou get’s interrupted on his announcement speech.

No, Kreuon, they don’t.

These two are gonna find ways to turn everything into competitions, aren’t they.

DORKS.

Aw, don’t worry, Touwa. He meant both of you.

Still a cool reveal shot. Also, damn, Banba got there fast. Does he have a ‘someone just pushed my brother in a fountain’ radar or something?

Actually, he probably does have a ‘brother in trouble’ radar.

Banba officially becomes the second person to actually formally trade blows w/ Tankjoh. And the last time, when Kou did it, he was riding adrenaline and rage from Master Red’s death. This is really cool.

Like, he was able to activate KataSoul in perfect timing to not get untransformed by the purple glowy slash. And it didn’t even really knock him back––he does a bloody flip and leaps clear. And while he’s a bit out of breath from it, he doesn’t seem that worse for wear. That was impressive! Even Tankjoh was kind of impressed!

XD These two dorks. Definitely already got the bickering down. ^^

‘Oops. Nii-san’s pissed.’ I love how even Kou is awkwardly looking down. XD

I love how it looks like this woman just carefully placed her purse down before falling unconscious.

Ah, yes. The universal Toku Hospital. Pretty sure this is where Geiz and Tsukuyomi took Sougo during the Ghost arc.

How… How would you tell if that was the Minusaur host. Like. Is it it just based on the toy gun? I’m beginning to wonder if Banba was just staring at Kou when he asked about killing the kid bc he could believe Kou was dumb enough to think he’d do that before being sure.

Or just for thinking that he’d do that already. It’s not like they want to kill people, they just think they’d have to.

Like, they’ve––well, definitely Banba, I think Touwa might have some left––lost all optimism. I don’t think Banba believes in the ‘power of hope and determination’ at this point. Boy needs to relearn his Sentai tropes. ^^ I mean, he’s definitely shut off most of his empathy. Like I know I’ve said before, and I’m so annoying I’ll say it again, I think he had the opposite reaction to trauma that the trio did. They choose to find hope and carry on in the memory of their Masters, and try to find happiness to help counteract the sorrow––whereas Banba seems to have reacted by deciding he’ll stop the pain by just feeling and connecting as little as possible. If that made any sense.

Banba says nothing, and he’s really stoic, but I think he’s also uncomfortable w/ that concept. Esp since it still seems like he raised his brother, I highly doubt he could actually harm a child w/out thinking of Touwa.

When did Kou stuff that down his shirt? And how did it stay there?

I love how Melto immediately chastises Kou for taking things. XD Definitely the mom friend.

Kou just looks confused.

Maybe I’m totally overreading Banba’s reaction to Melto suggesting they split up? But it’s the sort of thing that could very well be related to a betrayal, no? I dunno. Maybe he really was just looking for an opportunity to make someone else deal w/ Kou and Touwa’s competition.

Apparently, Asuna can’t read a map.

Oh, and don’t worry about him, dear. He’s just like that. I promise you, he’ll open up eventually.

Love how he’s very purposefully walking a certain amount of feet away from her.

Okay, but  the fact that TigerLance and MirNeedle really are stuck in their temple means so much to me. I can’t believe my goofy, über-tired joke theory came true.

I love how we’re all including each other in calls now. Like, before Asuna just called Kou. But apparently we all, I dunno, exchanged numbers? Is it possible to only call one person, or are they now just stuck on conference for life?

Banba will hate that if it’s true.

Touwa is vaguely concerned, aw. I really think he’s been a little lonely, what w/ Banba just having lost all faith in the rest of the world, so to speak, while he didn’t have the same experience; so the trio are growing on him faster, and he’s a little more open to the chance of connecting w/ others.

Also, the fact that Banba was the one to associate the Minusaur’s behaviour w/ an adult playing w/ a child. He seems like the last person that would be able to make that connection, but he’s also the one that we can confirm to actually have potentially interacted w/ a child in that way.

But even if I’m wondering if I’m overthinking Banba’s reaction to the splitting up suggestion, I really don’t think I’m overthinking Touwa’s reaction to the reveal about what created the Minusaur. It seems to have hit a nerve, and I think we can now be pretty certain that the boys have (presumably, though I guess it could have been their mother) dad issues of some kind. But… Well, I’ll get more into those ideas a little further down. See, there was this idea I had… I’ll get to it at the end.

I don’t think it’s that strange for Touwa to intercede. He has an idea to beat the Minusaur w/out killing anyone. The brothers don’t actually want to kill anyone. They just thought they’d have to if they couldn’t stop the monster in time.

Though I do definitely think there’s also something personal going on.

Cuties.

Banba’s comment, not only sets up his motivations for next episode, and make sit double clear how much Touwa means to him, but also reenforces my suspicion that the brothers have dad issues.

I love MirNeedle and his weird steamboat sound.

Also Banba almost smiling and kind of teasing his brother. ^^ Even more cuteness.

I love how the touching moment where Touwa admits that he’s kind of gotten fond of these fools is promptly followed by evidence of their utter incompetence and goofy melodrama. XD

Really excited for next week. XD I mean, it was already highly likely that they way they’d get Banba to start at least working w/ the team would be through Touwa, since Touwa is the only person he’s able to trust right now, but I’m excited for how they’re doing it. Usually stoic big siblings being distressed and frantic over injured little siblings is one of my jams. ^^

Seems like Tanjkoh is deliberately goading Kou, and it turns out to be a setup of some kind. Touwa ends up getting bitten by the Cerberus-based Minusaur, which seems to be some sort of rabid dog/werewolf type thing where the bite does something. And, naturally, Banba freaks out. Presumably after they get him calmed down enough to actually go after the Minusaur rather than just stabbing the nice animal lady (emotional Banba is not gonna be rational Banba), he eventually agrees to work w/ them in order to save his brother.

According to the website, his relationship w/ Kou also changes? So we’re starting the adoption process, I think. XD

Aaaah. While I do love the little Kishiryu running about on the book, I also would’ve loved if they’d done like LuPat where the preview kinda continued under the sponsor stuff, so we got to see a little more of the next ep. Mainly bc I am a big impatient baby. XD

That’s all folks! White chocolate rubber duck for anyone who read all that (go on, eat all of it, I dare you).

Anyway, onto that theory I promised to get to. So, when things were first getting revealed, and it turned out that Green and Black were brothers and we learned about Gaisorg/Gaisoulg, and how those three would be appearing in Strongest Battle, I had a thought that maybe Gaisorg was their father, who was either getting controlled by the Druidon (like Wolzard) or had gone evil for power, or something (like Ikkou and Isshu’s father). When it turned out that it was the armour, and esp when the brothers didn’t seem to recognise it, I pretty much ditched the idea. However. There have been developments. Someone picked up and took Gaisorg’s helmet away at the end of Strongets Battle. They’ve stated that Banba was betrayed in the past. This most recent ep indicated that Banba and Touwa have some kind of father issues––namely, that their father was likely rarely around, esp for Touwa. Banba’s line to the father about how there’s nothing more precious in the world than family. So now I’m wondering. Was their father the one who betrayed him/them? Maybe he wasn’t around bc he got obsessed w/ being stronger? Or maybe he betrayed them early, and Banba made the call to get away from him? Banba coming out of his usual stoicism to inform someone of the importance of family could just indicate he’s dealt w/ someone who failed in that regard, possibly in almost exactly the same way. A father who put duty (or maybe just plain power) before his children. Could also explain Banba’s desire to prove his own strength, prove he’s better than their father. And while he’s obsessively devoted to the mission (possibly after seeing his father lose sight of it?), it’s certain he would never put it above Touwa. His arc could partially be not just learning how to trust again and finding friends/a new family, but also getting away from their father in his own way.

Alternatively, I’m riding the high of the fact that my goofy ‘what if TigerLance and MirNeedle are trapped’ theory, and I’m running my mouth. But it does smack of a rather stock Sentai/Toku style, though in those the fathers usually turn out to be under the control of the bad guys, or it’s some sort of secret plan. But maybe we are pulling a KR here, and dad’s just plain a dickwad. Might be interesting.

[sailor-cresselia]

Zi-O 23: Better late than - OH NO WHAT WAS THAT ARGH~

BlackWoz’s Storytime Vault has a copy of the Zi-O II armor in it… that is so extra. And stalkery.

“Sougo’s a little dumb school-wise, so he’s risking not graduating.” … Low INT high WIS. Oh my gaim.

...aaaand never mind, it’s more high charisma, not high wisdom. Silly Sougo, didn’t you learn from the ‘Tsukasa wiping out the Ghost Watch’ incident? No sequence breaking for you.

I mean, really, trying to look up the answers to a test with your new future vision skills. That’s just silly.

One page of math is enough to put Sougo out for the count. Wow.

Rest of the ep under the cut!

Hm. Uncle Tokiwa finds an old robot with ‘Will be the king’ scrawled on it, in English, no less. The phrasing implies it was Sougo’s, and then the dream about 2121 gives him a candy stall that he remembers from when he was little.

So, we’ve got androids trying to find humans to destroy them – clearly there aren’t supposed to be humans anymore, and the candy stall was a trap. But Kikai seems to have turned against his fellow machines, and is protecting humans.

…

Chase would be proud.

Having the phone’s vibration appear in a dream as an earthquake is super clever of them, I like it.

Huh. The twisted aesthetic of the Another Rider this time is interesting. Kikai is incredible mechanical in his design, which makes complete sense. The area he lives in looks ‘old timey’ rural – wooden paneling, those bamboo mat walls, and the like. Another Kikai… ‘he’ draws from that look. He’s bundles of wood tied together, a training dummy.

There’s no human inside. That’s weird… And Sougo suspects something. The year, from the angle he saw it, looked like 212, and he definitely recognized it’s kick as being Kikai’s. So he’s got some conflicting ideas on this one.

And he doesn’t say that yet… just runs off to study. Geiz is well aware that he’s hiding something, but goes off after anywa-

OH GOD WHAT THE HELHEIM IS THAT! MURDER BEETLE? MURDER BEETLE?! THE FACE WAS THE HOST ABORT MISSION CALL EVERYTHING OFF!

AAHHHHH NO WONDER THE ANOTHER RIDER LOOKS LIKE BUNDLES OF WOOD IT’S LITERALLY A BEETLE PARASITING ITSELF ONTO A TREE AGGGHH! BURN IT KILL IT ALL WITH FIRE WE’RE DONE HERE!

Oh that’s just wonderful. Not only does Another Kikai creep me out, it creeps Hora out, and it wasn’t made by one of our current Time Jackers.

Swartz either doesn’t know or doesn’t want to say who made it, and I don’t know which possibility is worse.

“All right, this time I’m gonna study – I’m gonna… i’m… gonna sleep...”

Rento – Kikai – oh no I really like him. He’s protecting a small fleet of children, and they adore him!

The older looking boy, with the radio, looks worried about him using too much energy, that’s the sweetest thing.

Ohhhh that wide shot of the Earth is eerie, I don’t like that at all. I don’t like this future one bit.

And there’s the proper form of the ice attack that Another Kikai used… which is what definitively proves who the Another Rider is playing from.

Apparently these time-travel dreams are realistic enough that not only can Kikai tell that Sougo’s basically astral projecting 102 years into the future, but when he wakes up he’s moving from the attack he was hit by.

Oh, HEY, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen Geiz’s Faiz Armor!

But, because the Faiz finisher is exclusively a kick that lands far behind the target, the beetle can make it’s exit before Geiz gets the chance to turn around.

Ohhh concern abounds here!

Geiz is worried that Sougo’s slacking off on his studying, which is adorable. (we knew you were friends!) But then. Tsukuyomi and WhiteWoz. Together.

She wants to know why Geiz is still with Sougo. Implying that she’s left 9-to-5 this time.

Oh, and even more concerning, WhiteWoz doesn’t seem to be the one who created Another Kikai. His knowledge doesn’t go that far – implying he might stop at 2068, the year that Geiz and Tsukuyomi, as well as presumably the Time Jackers and BlackWoz, are from.

Tsukuyomi wants to take Oma Zi-O – to take Sougo down. Geiz doesn’t reply.

So, Geiz tries to get Sougo back to sleep, because they need more information. But looks like this isn’t information that they’re going to like.

I think Rento’s running out of charge capacity. He’s only just been in that fight, and was decidedly lower on power than after the first one. But when he tries to recharge… the satellite attacks him, and forces him into his transformation. Sougo’s panic wakes him up.

Tsukyomi is definitely siding with WhiteWoz now… but Geiz isn’t.

And this is the first time we’ve heard the Zi-O II activation sound with both the watch and Sougo on screen, confirming for me that it’s got two voices saying ‘Zi-O’ when he separates it – the deep driver voice, and Sougo’s. The rest of the transformation sounds for this form are the two normal driver voices – the deep one and the middle tone one. (The BeyonDriver is now known as both ‘the high one’ and ‘the confused one’.)

As Zi-O II, Sougo fights with a lot less movement than he uses as regular Zi-O. This is largely the type of fighting style he used when he and Geiz were fighting in OOO and Genm pt 1, letting the attacks come to him before eventually going on a brutal offensive.

Ohhh I think I see where some of this fight is going. The other fights against Another Kikai were in open light, and he was able to escape in bug form. But right now, Sougo’s fighting him in the shadows.

Rento is solar powered.

Ohhh no that’s a bad future sighting…

So the bug itself is the catalyst for the Another Rider… wait stop Swartz NO LEAVE UHR ALONE.

No no nonoNO.

… ah. Right. Of course he wouldn’t listen. How could I forget?

Swartz doesn’t take no for an answer.

Hora’s not okay with this.

Nobody is okay with this.

Geiz is far more reluctant to go with WhiteWoz than Tsukuyomi.

BlackWoz, why… that’s the shadow effect from your vault – and you brought it into the regular world before going to the Storytime Vault.

“That loneliness will lead you to greater power.” Like helheim it will. Overcoming it, maybe. But not being alone. Not for Sougo.

Ah. Seeing Rento get forced into his transformation isn’t what woke Sougo up, is it?

It’s seeing Rento’s programming being overwritten to that of the Humanoiz – the attack machines.

Oh, look at that, I’m crying over Chase memories again.

The preview:

Rento appears to be in 2019, judging by those cars behind him.

Uhr’s scared and in pain, because Swartz is the worst.

Tsukuyomi’s just. Standing there. As explosions go off around her. Honey, no.

Hora wants help… and looks like she’s willing to work with whoever will help her.

… could ‘Best Friend 2121’ refer to her and Uhr as much as it might Sougo and Geiz? Or whoever the teamup is? (I haven’t seen 24 raw yet, shut up, I’m waiting until, idk, tomorrow or something.)

I just want to protect these dumb teenagers is that so much to ask?

[firebirdsdaughter]

Waaaaaah!...

... And now, on to the gift that was Zi-O 23!

Spoilers below.

In no order:

I DON’T CARE KURO WOZ.

The only valid Wozes are Woz.5 and Keisuke himself. Those are the only valid Wozes.

... So they’re seriously trying to tell me baby Sougo could write clearly in grammatically correct English of all things. I doubt he could even do that now. Someone show this to Sougo to check if he wrote it.

Also, the first time I watched this and that shot revealed Geiz was still living at the shop, I WAS ON CLOUD NINE. I KNEW WHAT IT MEANT.

Okay, so I’d need a proper translation to decide if the dialogue here is supposed to be implying Sougo’s using his new future sight powers to cheat on a test. Given that when he mucks it up (boy gets a fourteen), he studies instead of trying to do that, I would believe not, but I can’t get a clear enough online translation to tell.

And we all know he’s bad at math.

The fact that he’s not only bad at it, it apparently just straight up knocks him out is also bloody hilarious.

Kikaider’s suit is goofy, but I do like his Henshin.

Geiz calls him. Geiz freaking calls him to come fight the Another Rider. Like everything is normal. I’m so grateful to most of this episode for my life, honestly.

Then they’re confused about there not being a person. But Sougo is just like ‘I gotta go study!’

Time Jacket kids are getting uneasy. This is totally justified given that later in the episode we clearly establish that dad has lost the plot--actually, he probably lost it a long time ago.

Sougo, why does math put you to sleep so fast, you might want to check that out.

The funny whirring sound every time Kikaider moves...

He’s cute, though, I like his smile.

The fact that if I did not know already I don’t think I’d believe this is the same actor who played Zamigo is a testament to this guys skills, I think. He’s like... Sweet baby-face boy here. It’s kind of fascinating.

... Ice powers? Why does he have ice powers? Eh, whatever.

Geiz looks a little uncomfortable w/ this being another future Rider...

GEIZ LECTURE HIM ABOUT SLEEPING WHILE HE’S SUPPOSED TO BE STUDYING.

This is so adorable. Came here to assassinate him, now here you are caring about his test scores. Yeah. You’re not getting fond of him all.

That tiny wave Shiro Woz does does not fit the Drama Chord that happens in the soundtrack when he and Tsukuyomi show up. I mean it when I say the only good things about Shiro and Kuro Woz are Keisuke. The actor is adorable and I love him. Strongly dislike both characters, though.

Not you, Woz.5, you’re an angel and I’m thrilled you were here.

Oh, hey. I just noticed that Tsukuyomi put her ‘future dress’ back on.

Let us mark to day at the first day the online translator actually properly translated Woz’s name.

Meanwhile, Geiz is genuinely shocked that she’s w/ Shiro Woz. I guess he didn’t think she was actually serious about turning on Sougo.

She’s like ‘how can you stay w/ Sougo?’ Unfortunately, Shiro Woz doesn’t give him a chance to even try and answer. He probably would have panicked about feelings anyway. Though maybe he would have admitted to having them, who knows.

... What was w/ the dramatic sound effect and zoom in? I mean, I like Keisuke’s face well enough, but... Why?

I just realise Tsukuyomi is paired off w/ a Woz again. Like, when Another Shinobi was there, she ended up hanging out w/ Kuro Woz, and now she’s hanging out w/ Shiro Woz. I guess this explains why the actors were kind of like that too.

I know Tsukuyomi’s doing a dramatic speech bout having to kill Sougo, but I am distracted by the hilarious facial expressions Keisuke is making in this scene.

Sorry, Tsukuyomi, but Geiz doesn’t actually want to do that anymore. And honestly, whose fault is that?

I love his reaction. Like, he’s clearly having ‘feelings panic’ but he does not look happy at the concept and is genuinely confused by her sudden shift in opinion. Like he doesn’t say it, and honestly, it’d sound kinda whiny if he did, but that look just totally read ‘But I don’t want to!?’ to me.

And then he still goes back to the shop. And he and Sougo proceed to have one of their usual, totally whacky interactions.

Aka, Geiz has no chill and is unnecessarily aggressive about everything.

Also, Sougo is chugging something that looks like five hour energies and that cannot be healthy.

Though the extra aggression might also be compensating for uncertainty w/ everything else.

Like, he seems pretty shaken by Tsukuyomi’s switch. I’m not sure what that flashback was supposed to indicate, but it made him stand down from bullying Sougo... Like, being hyper aggressive (as usual, admittedly) reminded him of her saying they had to defeat Sougo, and he backed off bc he didn’t want to think about that/deal w/ the association? Probably over analysing and making no sense, aren’t I?

Aaaaand... He’s down.

Poor Geiz. He was trying to have a genuine, open conversation, and Sougo just conks out.

No! Baby-face boy!

Tsukuyomi runs up the stairs, but Shiro Woz can’t be bothered. His legs are too long.

Geiz is working out his frustrations and concerns by punching the Another Rider. A valid outlet.

Tsukuyomi, maybe don’t do this while he’s working.

Geiz is just like ‘whatever, as long as you’re attacking the Another Rider.’

Why are you saying Geiz’s name like that? He’s the one who’s been still at the shop all day, dude. 

Then Geiz just asks if Sougo learned anything from his dream. Literally there is nothing in this ending that makes me at all think Geiz was going w/ Tsukuyomi and Shiro Woz at the end. Kuro Woz can go off.

Okay, but what is that thing and WHERE DID IT COME FROM? I just assumed it was Sworz, but I guess it wasn’t? So... Who made this beetle thing? Why does it create Another Kikaider?

Sworz, the one person who never makes any effort to differentiate between he Wozes.

Sougo freaking tries to warn Heure. Yeah, Tsukuyomi, he’s obviously decided to become Puma Zi-O. Bc Puma Zi-O would totally try to save a Time Jacket.

Also:

God freaking damn it to hell! Sworz, I liked you!

Geiz is genuinely shocked at this. Like, there is literally nothing here indicating to me that he would actually follow Shiro Woz here, I’m not sure why they tried to imply that.

*continues grumbling bc I liked Sworz*

Of course, when I say ‘like’ I mean, like, in regards to liking evil characters. Not that I think he’s a good person and I want to be his friend.

After this I really don’t want to be his friend. The desire has gone into the negative.

Pretty sure Ora is going to be very slowly backing towards the door after seeing this. (also established by the next ep preview)

Something that also has occurred to me on this rewatch... What just happened here was Sworz forcing Heure to use/be used by/take what could be construed as a ‘power up’--which promptly causes him to lose control. ... Are they trying to foreshadow something here...? (I would actually love it if this were foreshadowing for what I want it to be foreshadowing for)

Oh, go off as well, Shiro Woz. Jerkface.

WAGA KYUURANGERS.

... I think that’s the first time he’s said that this ep.

Oh... I also just noticed Geiz looks at Tsukuyomi to see what she’s going to do...

I... Really don’t understand why they’re trying to claim Sougo’s on his own now? There was... Literally nothing to indicate that Geiz wanted to follow Shiro Woz or believed him at all? There was also nothing n this ending that seemed like it would prompt him to? So I’m just gonna say that until proven otherwise, he just decided to head back to the shop on his own to think. Maybe we can have a scene where Sougo gets back and is like ‘wait, you’re here?’ and Geiz is like ‘I’m sorry, you thought I was gonna follow that arsehole?’

Plus, like, the preview shows all three current Riders transforming together? Plus it’s talking about everyone working together. Even Ora’s getting in on the teaming together.

Which is quite sensible of her. I feel like there’s often times when a character in her position would be like ‘nah, I’m fine on my own’ or something, but Ora’s just like ‘yeah, nope. Not taking any chances.’

I know the ‘best friend’ title isn’t referring to my boys, but I can close my eyes pretend it is.

And the angst monster in my closet and I are both hoping that really was foreshadowing of what’s gonna happen w/ Geiz Revive in some way...

Also, I’m gonna make everyone look at this image again bc the visual cues in it are so important to me okay?

Like, yes, clearly Tsukuyomi’s still being ridiculous, but it’s set up like an ‘all sides meeting’ sort of scene and Geiz is standing next to Sougo:

That’s all, folks! Digital sesame red bean paste buns for anyone who read all that.

I am so glad they had Geiz stay w/ Sougo. I know a lot of people were assuming he was of Tsukuyomi’s mind, bc... I don’t know. I guess he never outright disagreed w/ her. But he’s still treating Sougo the same? Ish? Actually, he even seemed friendlier at points? Like he’s worried about him studying and actually tried to have a serious conversation w/ him? And he seemed genuinely bothered by Tsukuyomi’s decision? And I love this? And bc I love angst, I’ll love it even more if that was foreshadowing and that’s what happens later w/ however the Revive power up works? So long as we all come out of it okay. I’m still hoping this ‘fated battle’ never actually happens, or, at least, happens differently than is actually being presented.

Okay, okay. I think everyone gets the point.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Quick, while the ibuprofen kicks in!...

... Zi-O 20 raw!

In no order:

Are the Wozes gonna be switching off for the recaps now?

Okay. Why has my computer managed to learn Geiz, Tsukuyomi, and Sougo’s names but not the word ‘the.’ So every time I mistype it as ‘teh’ I have to go back and fix it?

I’ve already watched this once, Kuro Woz, I know you’re lying to me. Or maybe it’s just your wishful thinking.

Sougo needs to learn that Geiz’s main method of tacit communication is punching things.

Geiz’s eternal war against having feelings. The boy is losing.

Honestly, though, he’s probably also got some pent up aggression right now, and Hiromu was being so obnoxious I’m not surprised someone as intense as Geiz would want to punch him at some point.

Sougo has come to the conclusion that if he just yells Kuro Woz will show up. And honestly, Kuro Woz has yet to prove him wrong, so...

Shiro Woz is conveniently in suit during this whole opening so that Keisuke doesn’t have to change costumes too quickly.

JK I know scenes are often filmed out of order to make things like this easier.

Congrats, Kuro Woz, you’ve been promoted from Another Rider detector to teleportation service!

Were Ora’s fingernails painted before?

God, I hate Shiro Woz’s laugh.

But on the bright side (literally) my precious tsundere child is so pretty and I love him! He looks so sad here I wanna give him a hug... ^^

While I listen to the theme. Fun fact is that the image translator I use for the mandarin/Japanese subs (there’s both on the versions I watch) periodically translates random words into things like ‘kiss’ and ‘hold’ and other romantic-esque stuff. It literally at one point translated one of Geiz’s lines to Sougo as ‘I want to kiss you’ it was hilarious. The fact that it just does it completely randomly sometimes.

Anyway, Hiromu’s a good actor. Like... His movements are all really fluid and he comes across and really confident? I dunno. I like it.

Geiz is moping around outside, and Tsukuyomi literally just made a ‘really?’ face at him. XD

He’s too embarrassed to come inside, bc that might make him have feelings, so he’s hiding outside pretending he’s angry.

You know Geiz trusts you when he’s willing to at least sort of admit to having feelings around you. This is super cute, actually. I wanna more about the history w/ these two as well... Also him worrying about what Sougo is gonna do is so cute. You do care.

Geiz and Tsukuyomi on their own is really interesting, though. He's much less guarded around her, and she obviously knows him very well.

OH MY GOD. YOU CAN SEE IT. YOU CAN SEE THE EXACT MOMENT HE GETS THE IDEA.

Also this ep was literally Geiz playing Shiro Woz and I love it.

Ya know, I was kind of hoping we’d get some info on Tsukuyomi’s past with this... After all, she’s the other member of the cast we can almost certainly confirm has dad-angst. Admittedly, that’s probably more related to dad getting dusted by Puma Zi-O after pushing her to safety, but...

Come to think of it... Why hasn’t that ever been brought up? Like ‘yes, Sougo, I know you want to be a good overlord and all, but in the future you literally killed my father, can we discuss this?’

Geiz is looking sadly at children playing w/ their parents and I want an explanation.

Apparently he’s here to see Shiro Woz. ... Why is Shiro Woz hanging out at a playground, that’s creepy.

Though the translation was apparently ‘contact.’ But then... How did he contact him?

Geiz just looks so very tired right now. That would definitely be my response to this bastard.

What the hell does Oct-Sox mean? What the hell is Sox?

They’re all so cute though, it’s unfair.

Oh, wow. He goes right at Sougo. That was super obvious.

Geiz is like ‘oh my god, just go already, I only have so much pent up aggression I can throw at this oaf, he’s too cute and I’m kinda fond of him at this point.’

That’s something I kinda wanna write at some point. Like, the fact that Sougo is just so tiny and adorable that he’s like a puppy that makes people instinctively feel the need to protect him or something. And Geiz is just like ‘no what the fuck.’ That was a bad explanation, hopefully it got across.

I’m getting the implication that the Ride Watches have turned into ‘whoever grabs it first from the holder’ and that is bloody hilarious to me.

Okay, so he deHenshins him, but... Sougo isn’t actually that injured. He’s fine, he gets back up and fights later. Geiz actually did him better than Sougo did him during the OOOs thing.

Sougo is picking on Woz again. Woz is literally like ‘you do this every time’ and Sougo looks so proud of himself. This is so funny.

Woz is trying to tell Sougo what to do, and Sougo is like ‘nope.’ And Tsukuyomi’s like ‘please do kill anyone.’

Like I said, this whole ep is Geiz playing Shiro Woz and I support this endeavour.

I love how Tsukuyomi clearly knew very well that Geiz was way softer than he was trying to act, bc she’s straight up giggling at Sougo asking her the same thing. Like, I’m sure she is worried about how this well turn out, but she knows both her boys are going at it w/ good intentions.

Also the fact that they both turned to Tsukuyomi. She’s their glue and they know it. It’s like that line from Harry Potter ‘We won’t make it ten steps without her!’

Aw, Sougo’s so happy to know that Geiz was worrying about it, too. XD

I think she’s noting that originally, Geiz wouldn’t have cared what Sougo would do. And that’s true and it’s cute and I love it.

Sougo just figured it out.

I love how Geiz pauses in front of the door, for some reason.

He literally uses Shiro Woz to get around Ora’s time freeze. I don’t know if he thought that far ahead in the moment from the beginning of the ep, or if that was what he was asking Shiro Woz about before, but that’s freaking brilliant.

Also, it’s totally the feathers. Is there a time bird?

The fact that Shiro Woz is hiding by the air conditioner units writing in his Nook is bloody hilarious to me.

The wild Hiromu is confused.

Geiz is like ‘hell no, I just attacked you guys before so that the asshole in the beret would believe me enough to negate Ora’s timestop’

Shiro Woz here, to ruin everything. Shut up dude, Geiz isn’t sure he wants to do it that way anymore.

Also, side note, the image translator did it as ‘Your mission is to defeat the ostrich.’ And now. I can’t.

It’s interesting how, even though they both wave their arms around, the Wozes are different. Kuro Woz is very stationary w/ his arm waving, while Shiro Woz’s body often follows his arms and does weird noodle motions.

Sougo showing up to back Geiz up. *clutches at my chest and cries bc cuties*

Geiz is mortified at having been caught having and acting on feelings, especially by Sougo.

Okay, so these room shots are nice and dramatic, and everyone looks quite well, but... Where the devil are they? What is this place? I know I joked about air conditioners but that was a joke I don’t actually see any.

He’ so embarrassed, oh my god. I love my tsundere baby so much.

Hiromu’s like ‘holy shit, dude.’

Still would like to point out that Geiz clearly went way easier on Sougo during the ‘fake fight’ thing than Sougo went on him during was was allegedly a fake fight. Though, I will absolutely grant that those had slightly different circumstances. But still.

The only valid things about Shiro Woz is his suit, his henshin (which I still unfortunately love) and the fact that Keisuke seems to be having a great time playing him. That’s it.

I feel like it should be meaningful that Sougo’s breaking out the Double Armour for this. Ya know, the show about partners and their unbreakable trust in each other. Or maybe I’m reading too much into everything. Probably the second one.

I think they changed the effects of Hiromu’s Rider Kick?

A for effort Sougo. But we can’t be beating the tertiary Rider just yet.

‘Who are you?’ ‘I am... Red Buster! No! Wait! Shit! Wrong show again!’

Okay, so he’s just like ‘it’s your mother,’ but... How does he know who his mother is? Has he already met her? How old is Hiromu? My first guess is in his twenties, but hat doesn’t confirm anything. I’m assuming this will be made clear once this is subbed, and the main issue is my not knowing any Japanese and the clunkiness of online translators.

Hiromu thanks Geiz and Geiz’s response it to immediately look away awkwardly. I love him.

Shiro Woz just straight up backhanded Geiz and that is extremely rude. Also let go of Hiromu you meanie.

Shiro Woz has already cottoned on to the fact that Geiz is too good to do what he wants. This is bad.

Geiz why would you take something this guy hands you? Though it’s also freaking adorable how his first reaction is to try and hand it back to Hiromu.

Also, Shiro Woz looking minority offended at Geiz’s first response being trying to give it back.

Also all three of them are still wearing their Drivers and this is somehow hilarious to me.

 Aw, Hiromu smile! So sweet! Your hat is still dumb, though, sorry. XD

I am not comfortable w/ the weird electric Watch shock or Shiro Woz at all. I strongly suspect that he’s gonna try and force Geiz to do what he wants at some point.

Doesn’t Geiz Revive have two forms? That looked like only one of them... Maybe him getting the other alters time again? Hmm... Be really cute is he got mind controlled into using one form and then achieves the other by breaking out of it?

Well, Sougo’s clearly at least slightly worried. I’d be freaking out. But I guess at this point this kid might have hit his ‘weird’ quota.

Okay, I think he’s saying something about ‘You have to defeat the Overlord, so you can’t have feelings for/about/care about him’ something like that. Too late loser. Though I can see Geiz trying (and failing) to distance himself just in case, not bc he wants to, but bc he’s scared of actually being hurt if he does have to do it. Did that make any sense?

Hiromu is literally like ‘holy hell, are you okay?’ but also like ‘I... don’t know what I can do if you’re not and now I really don’t wanna cross this guy... Don’t have much choice...’ Like, him looking back in concern was really sweet.

My melodramatic, friendship etc. obsessed side is like ‘Nooooo! Sougo, why didn’t you go after him!’ but my logical half is like ‘oh, gee, I don’t know, maybe the unconscious man on the ground, probably in need of a hospital?’

Tsukuyomi’s outfit was cute again this ep, and I wish I could’ve seen more of it.

Still really hoping Sougo at least tried to look for Geiz. Like, he’s very valid in being super down at the end there after that weird shit, but I really wanna know he at least tried. Like he probably did have to get home, but he must’ve had time to at least try to look...

Apparently, nobody questions why it looks like Kuro Woz just came from upstairs.

Any conversation about what just happened is prevented by Junichiro’s appearance! Man, of all the times, Oji-san.

Also Kuro Woz just ‘ya’d again. That was it. That was all he said.

Kuro Woz just whips out the Zi-O power up and hands it to Junichiro. Like... Why? What is going on here? Sure, Junichiro is acting like he doesn’t recognise it, and maybe he doesn’t. But maybe he also is the one who originally made the Ride Watches, in the past or the future?

Also, Kuro Woz, did you have that the whole damn time?

Maybe Another Ryuuga is the mirror world version of Shinji? And that was why he was creepy smiling? Bc that smile was creepy!

Sougo has to fight his mirror self, it seems. Also, looks like the boys are back together. So either they found Geiz, or he got home on his own. Hoping there’s a ‘we were so worried about you’ scene. I’m also hoping that one day, Sougo, like, hugs Geiz, and Geiz freaks out and is like ‘is this an attack? Am I being attacked?’ and Tsukuyomi’s just like ‘no you nincompoop it’s a hug I know you’ve been hugged before you big baby.’ What? I have absolutely not imagined something like this/already put it into a scene. Sort of. Too bad that at this rate, no one will ever see it.

Also, does mirror Sougo mean Geiz is going to finally have a go at ‘Guess Which is Which?’ Bc I would love there being a time where that happens and he nails it, and then tries to pretend his knowledge of Sougo/ability to tell the difference was not sentimental at all.

Oh, my god. Like that episode of Gekiranger, where Retsu got switched w/ a mirror monster and only Gou noticed? Like, Sougo gets replaced by something, but Geiz, Tsukuyomi, and even Junichiro notice? It would be so cute!

I used the word cute a lot in this post, didn’t I...

Alright, well, that’s all for now. Virtual shortbread for anyone who read my nonsensical ramblings all the way down here.

The tea and the shirts remain on standby if necessary.

Which is not gonna make sense to anyone who didn’t see that one dumb post I made ages ago. XD

Oh, right. And my fave image translator moment from this ep:

I can totally imagine Shiro Woz saying this.

[firebirdsdaughter]

But...

... While we’re being hopeful... I had an idea that would make a previous angst idea even more angsty.

So, I’m sure no one remembers that nonsensical post I made about how it would be awesome/painful if Geiz had the realisation that he and Sougo had become friends and he didn’t want to kill him at all, only to get forced to use Geiz Revive for something, either by Shiro Woz or simply necessity (extra angst points if it’s to save Sougo), and it does have some sort of brainwashing effect? And I was wondering if Sworz forcing Heure to turn into Another Kikai was foreshadowing for that? (it’s probably now, but a bird can dream)

It just occurred to me... Sougo saw that future. So... It wouldn’t be too far afield for him to also see the future of Geiz using Geiz Revive--and esp if it’s also by force via Shiro Woz? Hell, even if it was to save him? Like, seeing that future, but then he’s unable to prevent it at all? That’d be traumatising. Especially if it’s, like, painful and/or upsetting for Geiz, too. Like, knowing your friend is gonna be hurt, but failing to prevent it, and thus having to watch it twice?

Wow, I do like traumatising Sougo.

Another fun alternative would be even if it doesn’t have a brainwashing thing. So, maybe--whether he’s forced into it, or does it out off necessity--even though Geiz does become Geiz Revive, he still doesn’t want to kill Sougo? So instead he, like, tries to isolate himself and keep away from him bc he’s scared that if they spend too much time together, once he has the power up, then Shiro Woz or some sort of weird destiny shit will intervene and they’ll end up having to go through w/ the fight? So, like, ‘I don’t want to risk that I’ll end up hurting you since I’ve now got the power I’m allegedly going to kill you w/, so please stay away from so you’re safe’ kind of thing. Ya know?

... Pretty sure all of this is the opposite of hopeful. Apparently I just wanted to crush hope, and I’m sorry. Blame Microsoft Excel.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Alright...

...I’m still cagey and frustrated and annoyed. But.

There was cute in episode 25.

So... Maybe I cans till have a shred of hope?

Short version?

No. But in no order:

Keisuke himself remains the only tolerable thing about either Woz.

Though I do appreciate Shiro Woz’s ‘I knew it’ reaction when the Revive Watch doesn’t activate.

Also, as over this part of the plot as I am already, I do have to give them kudos for having a sort of balance thing going on--Geiz’s power up doesn’t work the first time he tries to use it, either.

It occurs to me that is was actually Another Zi-O in that behind the scenes pic we saw a few weeks ago.

When Shiro Woz says that the Revive Watch won’t activate unless you’ve made a decision to kill Ouma Zi-O (actually, I think he says ‘the overlord’? Could this be a case of exact words?), Geiz just makes this ‘well, we’re fucked’, resigned face. Bc he DOESN’T WANT TO. And then later, when he tries to tell himself he does in order to use it, he CAN’T. Bc he can’t muster the will to kill Sougo anymore.

I really hope he finds it wanting to keep his promise to Sougo to keep him from becoming Ouma Zi-O at all rather than actually deciding to kill Sougo, but the preview doesn’t give me much hope for that bc Toei cannot make me happy w/ two shows at once for too long. Do they have a ‘Firebird is enjoying herself too much’ alarum in there or something?

The preview is also making me think Tsukuyomi caused the bus crash?

Does the show think I find the ‘relationship’ between Kuro Woz and Sougo cute or endearing? Bc... I really, really don’t. Junichiro, please do not let him go places w/ Kuro Woz unsupervised like that. Please.

Why haven’t we asked Kuro Woz why he’s so gung-ho for a future where half the human population is dead? Why do we want to be friends w/ a person who wants that?

Other great moments: Geiz and Sougo bickering like brothers, Geiz shoving Sougo away from Another Zi-O, which could come across as a very Geiz way of being like ‘since you’re not having any luck, stay over there so you’re not in the line of fire while we try,’ and Sougo stepping in to stop Another Zi-O from going after the other two Riders after he deHenshined them (though... I might have minded letting him off Shiro Woz...)

Oh yeah, and apparently Another Zi-O boy (I’ll learn his name if he sticks around, I’m bad w/ names) wants to defeat Sougo/I  think blames Sougo for something? Maybe the crash? (Bc Tsukuyomi?)

Turns out the ‘fighting the water’ thing was a dream. Something about a star. Kuro Woz started talking about astronomy and the translator couldn’t keep up.

So my guess now is that the ‘fighting in the water’ will happen maybe ep 28-29, and is what ‘goes to meet Geiz’ entails? Which... Could give them enough time to work up some emotional tension, if they do it right (I have no expectations). Nothing can ever top Eiji and Ankh’s water fight, but they might be able to make it meaningful. Especially if they go w/ the same vein of ‘realising we don’t want to hurt each other.’ (I still have no expectations)

*stares pointedly at Toei HQ from the US east coast*

Honestly, was glad to see that several of the former Another Riders were doing well. Good for them. Until Another Zi-O, I guess.

I wish Geiz would go back to his gym clothes and sweats. I prefer them to his future outfit.

The tea and shirts are still on standby.

That’s all folks! It wasn’t actually that short, but it wasn’t as long as it coulda been, I guess. Sorry. I’m very tired. It snowed today and I’m the only one home she I shovelled the whole damn driveway. Anyway, virtual french toast for anyone who read all that. Or waffles.

I’m still frustrated about these plot choices bc they feel contrived and I don’t like the ‘Secondary and Primary fight to show off Secondary’s new form.’ Also just not a form of ‘betrayal’ plots in general, of any kind. I really hope they give Kuro Woz a proper arc that can make me like him. Right now the only reason I can tolerate either Woz on my screen is that Keisuke is such a joy to watch (his face game is on point). Otherwise I’d just be skipping them; manipulative people are a huge turn off for me.

Anyway, we’ll see where this goes. I’m curious how they’re gonna get from this to the thing we’re not meant to know about.

That meme needs to live forever now.

[firebirdsdaughter]

Random Writing Tidbit Hmmm...

... ‘Easier to write for Geiz’ I say.

SO WHY IS THIS LONGER?

Actually, this was pretty hard to write. I went back through and edited a couple times, so if there’s weird phrasing, I may have deleted something and then not quite corrected it.

Also... Well, the other one came out before episode 16, and this one is after, so there’s... Slight differences in tone, I guess would be the best way to say it. I suppose you’ll see if you read it.

Well, I’ll just throw it down here, then. It’s not that great, either. But if I went and wrote it might as well put it where people can read it if they like.

Alternatively known as Part Sougo.

For a moment—probably less, actually—everything was frozen.

Sougo’s movements were jerky and slow as he tried to get his bearings after hitting the ground, spinning around to look for who had pushed him, even though he already knew.

Even when it was calling out a word as foreign to it as his name, he knew that voice. He knew before he even finished turning who it was, the panic rising in his chest—far faster than anything else was moving—bursting fourth in a terrified cry;

“Geiz!”

Geiz didn’t move; because it was barely a second, however long it seemed to Sougo. The other Rider’s head was cocked slightly to the side, like he, too, was genuinely surprised by what he had just done—which made sense. Though their relationship had drastically changed,  lost the majority of its hostility, Sougo had never even dreamed Geiz would ever go this far for him—though perhaps that was because this situation would have fit better into nightmares than dreams.

One of his arms drags itself up through the thickness of his slowed perception, even the fingertips stretching out. If he could just grab onto Geiz’s arm, his hand, something, pull him down, too, then maybe…

Maybe he could save his friend.

And maybe he was imagining it, but in that slow, elongated moment, he’d swear that Geiz’s arm twitched upwards, reaching back towards him, without hesitation.

And then in a roar of heat and flame, the blast struck. And time returned to normal.

Sparks and smoke filled Sougo’s vision, debris forcing him to duck and cover his head. He heard a thud of something—someone—slamming hard into cement to his left, a sound not that unusual that was somehow horrible when he knew what it was.

He came back up as quickly as he could, casting about. He found Geiz on the ground several paces away, deHenshined, sprawled on his side, far too still for comfort. It was enough to bring his aching legs back to life, to heave himself up and stumble over, dropping onto the ground beside the other Rider like something had let the air out of him, dropping his own transformation. His hands scrambled on Geiz’ shoulders, trying to pull him protectively close and check the damage at the same time.

There was a massive crater in the wall, the force with which Geiz had been thrown into it having destroyed part of the cement, which wasn’t a good sign. There was some comfort—he could feel the other boy’s shallow breathing in his arms, even though it was haphazard, weak, and pained, and he didn’t think anything was broken. But it also felt like Geiz was trembling—even shivering—against him. There was blood in his mouth, and smearing from numerous other gashes and grazes—from when he’d hit the wall and ground, Sougo assumed—and masses of nasty burns from where the fire had made contact. When he lay a hand against the back of Geiz’s head while cradling it to his shoulder, the palm came away wet and red, blood clotting in the other Rider’s hair. He must have slammed his head into the wall when he was knocked out of his transformation. This was even worse.

It was wrong, too. Geiz felt small and fragile in his arms, shaking even while unconscious, breathing laboured. Not only was he taller than Sougo, but his steadfast personality always rejected and masked anything that might even possibly be construed as weakness. Ordinarily, he would never consent to being cradled wounded in anyone’s arms, especially Sougo’s—but now his eyes gave no sign of opening, and the only change in his expression were faint, unconscious winces.

But that was why he’d known he could trust Geiz right from the start. Not necessarily to be nice to him or not take a swing at him, but to be honest with him. Lying or deceiving were things Geiz was completely incapable of—Sougo was pretty sure he didn’t even know the meaning of the words. He could not and would not pretend to be other than what he was; true, honourable, earnest. Good. Too good to kill a person in cold blood when he actually thought about it, why most of his attempts never seemed to go through, or even have the same murderous intent as their original meeting.

Despite repetitive threats, the more time they’d spent together, the less enmity had been behind them. Though the other boy’s difficult life had made him uncertain and even afraid of showing any sentiment whatsoever, Sougo had even begun to suspect that Geiz actually liked him—liked him enough to risk forgoing the most direct route to save the future, probably the only even remotely selfish thing Geiz had ever done.

When he’d found out he was right, in a way, it was just as exciting as reaffirming him dreams—maybe even more so, though if he ever said that to Geiz he knew the other boy would immediately panic and flee the room—because he was very clear on how faithful a friend he’d finally made. Woz had once claimed that Tsukuyomi and Geiz weren’t on his side—he supposed that had been true when Woz actually said it, but now… Now he was reasonably Tsukuyomi and Geiz were the only ones who were actually on his side. On Tokiwa Sougo’s side. Not Ouma Zi-O’s—like Woz himself, or Kisshan. On the side of the person he was now, of the king he wanted to be, not a twisted version already decided for him. And he knew he could rely on them. Sure, Geiz’s trust had been a battle to gain, but once won, his loyalty ran deep.

… Deep enough to throw himself between a fireball and someone he’d originally intended to kill. Perhaps he should have this day coming.

Something moved behind him, and he remembered their opponents were still there. Under usual circumstances, he supposed he could have handled them alone, thought it would have been painful. But Geiz being out of commission—and possibly concussed, bleeding internally, or worse, noted a voice in his head that really loved to make things even better—made him a target, and Sougo didn’t think he could fight that hard and protect his friend at the same time. So instead, he fumbled for his Bike Watch, activating it as quickly as possible. Trying to leverage Geiz as gently as he could, he heaved the wounded Rider up and loaded him onto the back of the bike, scrambling on himself and hitting the gas. He didn’t know were they were going or how long he could drive, but it was the only option without the Time Majins on hand, especially as he heard other engines rev behind them.

So he drove, shifting slightly so that he could feel Geiz’s heartbeat, ailing and small, but still just barely noticeable, through his back.

And prayed that Tsukuyomi would find them first.

Yeah. Not great. But here it is.

Kinda wonder if the first fifteen-sixteen eps were loosely about the trio figuring themselves and their relationship out and establishing their position. They’re a unit now, and I feel like they all better understand how they feel about each other. Like, ‘yeah, okay, maybe we actually do care about each other.’ Kinda wondering if they’re gonna have a sort of ‘us against the world’ mentality? Like, Woz (well, original Woz) we know is on Puma Zi-O’s side, the Time Jackets are on their own side... I feel like the Zi-Ot3 is gonna establish their own side? Like the ‘create your own future’ message seems to have been rather strong?

I mean, we seem to be starting some kind of ‘Woz Arc’ next ep, so we’ll see where that goes. Actually this thought I had was that if New Woz comes from an alternate timeline where Sougo is a ‘good king’ (still not sure ‘king’ is gonna end up actually meaning ‘king who rules stuff’), and the upcoming arc is how those two timelines are gonna clash? But I think in the end we’re gonna end up w/ a third, sort of merged timeline, or something.

Did... Did any of that make any sense?

[firebirdsdaughter]

Special Valentines Day Post...

... Zi-O 22 subbed.

Okay, maybe special in name only.

... I’m kinda scared, actually.

In no order:

GTFO Kuro Woz, I’m mad at you right now.

Poor Sougo gets Rider Kicked out of the Mirror World. Poor baby. DX

GEIZ! HONEY! BABY! You’re fine, stop it! God, why are you like this? I mean, I love you, but... Honey. Stop. Tsukuyomi, smack him. Actually don’t, that wouldn’t help.

God he’s so dramatic, though. I mean, it’s Geiz. Can’t do anything by halves here.

Okay. Wow. That was... Actually kinda a jerk thing to say, Tsukuyomi. Talk about not helpful. So he was wangsting a little, you didn’t have to go there.

Like, Geiz is upset bc he was looking at things purely as a, well, soldier, and briefly considered going through w/ Shiro Woz’s idea to stop the attacks and other people getting hurt, and is clearly being like ‘I’m such a terrible person for this.’ He expresses this to Tsukuyomi, and her response is ‘Yeah, Sougo didn’t even think about it.’ Like... I’m sorry, what? He’s clearly hurting over this already and all you say is basically imply ‘yeah, you’re not as good as Sougo’???? I will totally buy that she didn’t actually mean it that way, but that was very much how it sounded. You really couldn’t say something like ‘Sure, maybe you thought about it, but you didn't go through w/ it, why don’t you consider that?’ Man, no wonder he’d turned away from her when they camerawomen pulled back...

And then she just follows it up w/ asking about if he thinks Sougo will become Puma Zi-O. Tsukuyomi, how about comforting your friend a little? You’ve apparently got enough compassion to save the life of the person who murders your father in the future, but you can’t be bothered to show any for someone who is allegedly your childhood friend? Sweetie, I love you, really, but... Really?

Especially since it’s immediately followed by Ryuga attacking someone else. Like... Yes, I don’t agree w/ Shiro Woz’s plan, it probably wouldn’t work and sacrificing an innocent person is never a good course. But I can totally understand Geiz, esp given his background, thinking about it, given the circumstances (since there’s apparently no other way to beat Ryuga w/out a Kamikaze attack). He deserved a better response than essentially being told Sougo was a better person.

Again, I absolutely want to think she didn’t mean it that way. But that was what it sounded like to me.

Speaking of Sougo... Eh, he’s fine.

Alright, I may been a little annoyed at Tsukuyomi rn, but her and Geiz’s reactions in this scene remain gold.

Geiz just closing his eyes like ‘someone please shoot me...’

Also, the urge to punch something is just emanating from him in waves...

Sougo’s just lying there giggling like ‘whelp, no way out of this one...’

I... I thought you guys established this in the previous ep...

Oh, I’m sorry Tsukuyomi, you care now? Okay, okay. I’m being overly critical, I know. That earlier scene just really hit a nerve for me.

Sou is really cute, and also really good at the ‘sad puppy’ kind of look.

Geiz teleports to the front door again.

THANK YOU SOUGO. See? THAT’S a good response, Tsukuyomi. Not something that’s basically a guilt-trip. You want to mention it after, fine. It’s something to consider in the ‘will Sougo become Puma Zi-O’ brainstorming, absolutely. But you could’ve at least tried to reassure him a bit first, so it doesn’t, you know, come across as you telling him he’s a bad person compared to Sougo.

Again, I’m really sorry for going on about this one little thing. Like I said, hit a nerve.

Has Sougo tried to sacrifice himself at this point? Like, I don’t doubt he would, but... I guess she’s just saying theoretically? Or she’s referring to the ‘take me out if I go evil thing?’

Oh, wait, I guess he did try to kill his future self. I don’t know if that counts, though.

This is sweet and all, Tsukuyomi, but I’m still mad about what you said to Geiz.

I think ‘subjects’ is just gonna be Sougo’s little cute-though-also-obnoxious personal tic...

Now really starting to wonder if the ‘reason’ Sougo becomes Puma Zi-O was just... Always destined to be tied to Geiz somehow? I have wild and unlikely theories, but...

Angry puppy is yelling at sad puppy.

Seriously, as long as it’s also Sou I can’t feel threatened by Mirror¡Sougo.

Still trying to get used to Shiro Woz.

So... Did he write that, or... Did it appear? If you wrote it... Well, like I said. He’s strangely tolerable for this episode.

Oh, yeah, and:

WAGA KYUURANGERS.

Make up your mind, dude. Are you for helping, or not?

I still say bring back Woz.5.

Well... Technically he’s Kamen Rider Ryuki... Was... You know what, not gonna go into it. I already spoiled Ryuki up the wazoo in my Raw post.

I’m not even listening, I’m just watching him make the Shinji faces. XD

dude, it’s literally an evil, warped version of you. I’ve met the real you, he’s a sweetheart. Even Ron liked him. And Ron didn’t like anyone.

I love how every time we see this fight now, it’s just Geiz sitting down somewhere watching Shiro Woz get blasted. Which is a valid pastime.

Puppy debate! ^^

Mirror¡Sougo has the cutest ‘evilly confused’ face ever.

Still hoping for the thing to be that being a king doesn’t necessarily mean ‘ruling over’ people? If that makes sense? Like, he could be called the ‘King of Time’ bc he’s got powers over time, and it’s cool, rather than ruling it? Like, and I know many people didn’t like it, but, the way Daigo was nicknamed ‘King’ in Kyoryuger? He wasn’t a ‘king’ King, but he got called ‘king.’ If that makes any sense whatsoever.

 See, I definitely believe she cares about him very much, but she really choose her words poorly in that scene, and I feel like she should apologise for that. Just a ‘I wasn’t trying to imply you were a bad person or Sougo was better than you, I was just considering what this meant for him in regards to Puma Zi-O.’

Aaaagh! There I go again! Man, that one line just really got under my skin somehow...

Love how it does, like, a little laser-pointer effect.

WAGA KYUURANGERS.

In my defence, I wrote the most recent chapters of It Is The Clock’s Pendulum before this episode came out.

This scene is very serious, and heartbreaking, and sad. Geiz is my favourite.

...

I am losing it at Another Ryuga just chilling over by the tree.

Shiro Woz.exe has stopped functioning.

Weird sound effects when Sougo shows up???

Still wish they coulda given him more of a reaction. He does kinda do the sad puppy look, I suppose. Still.

Also wish Tsukuyomi could have had a better response to Geiz earlier... Can I just pretend those things happened?

How did he see the future? Did he just... Turn into Zi-O II on the way over? What does that even MEAN?

Sougo: ‘Fuck this timeline!’

The brief Woz-Fight is still funny. during this episode, I’d actually prefer that Shiro Woz win. But just for this episode.

I would always prefer that Woz.5 win.

I love how Geiz just... Doesn’t deHenshin. Like, He and Tsukuyomi are trying to follow this battle, but he just... Refuses to drop his transformation. For whatever reason.

Seriously? Your sword has your face on it and it compliments you? Who made these?

Yeah, Geiz is just literally blaming himself here. What do you mean ‘this time’ though? I guess... You mean all the times it was Woz? I actually think we can totally blame this on Woz, too. Though the Kamikaze stuff might have been a trigger, I’ll admit.

No, wait. What am I saying. This is obviously Decade’s fault.

The fact that it literally is is the best part.

Tsukuyomi, would it kill you to not let Geiz blame himself for everything this episode? -_-

Though I guess this is the ‘Tsukuyomi is suddenly weirdly angry’ scene...

Like... I’m really starting to think this is personal. I guess this is the power he used to kill her father? Pity we never brought that up before.

Though now that I think about it, that could be it. Puma Zi-O did use some sort of time-stop-manipulation ability when he dusted Dad, so that might be why she’s reacting like this.

Geiz, on the other hand, is really unsure.

Tsukuyomi, are you really that shocked that people have darker sides to them? You never met Kisaragi Gentaro, you have no excuse for (apparently) assuming Sougo has no traits that would ever lead to him becoming Puma Zi-O in some way.

Though I am admittedly not clear on what exactly those traits were... I guess his habit of being wily and the fact that wanting to be ‘king’ comes w/ wanting power? So... Ambition is evil here? I dunno.

I guess it’s all or nothing w/ Tsukuyomi. Though she could specifically be referring to ‘We have to actually decide whether or not we’re gonna kill him’ rather than saying ‘we should kill him.’ TV show cliffhanger tactic, make everything round more threatening than it actually is.

It’d be interesting if she and Geiz do switch up, though. Bc he’s the one who was super black and white (no references to any Wozes intended) about it at the start. ‘If I even think you’re going to turn into Puma Zi-O, I’m taking you out,’ and how quick he was to go for it in the Genm arc. But here... He seems really uncertain still (probably not helped by the fact that Sougo did this to save his life), while for Tsukuyomi, a line has clearly been crossed. It’d be an interesting way to twist things up if they do go that way.

Oh, yeah, and the two times Tsukuyomi talks at the camera this ep are still creepy.

I’m winder if the look Geiz just gave her was meant to be a ‘wtf?’ look. Bc it kinda looks like one? It also could be something else, I dunno. Maybe he’s just looking serious.

SHUT UP KURO WOZ.

I love how we don’t even see him, Kamen Rider Kikaider just freaking steals the shot.

Also, hi Kikaider!

Why is he punching me, though?

Freaking Zi-O II Watch is freaking huge in the end cap.

Kamen Rider Zi-O takes notes from LuPat and only schedules this actor for two episodes.

Man, he’s very good looking, though. Even in that outfit. Bet he uses the wrench to transform.

The fact that this ep ended w/ Tsukuyomi, of all people, apparently saying they need to kill Sougo (like I said, could just be a cliffhanger scare-tactic), then it goes to the preview of Sougo running around w/ some sort of ‘studying’ bandana on (I assume it’s studying bc the summary said he’s cramming for finals, essentially. Or midterms.) talking to some dude in a yellow turtle neck and a denim jacket that’s just a little too short. Whiplash.

Oh, wow, he’s from 2121? So that makes him the first/only future Rider we’ve had that’s from after the year that Geiz, Tsukuyomi, and the Wozes come from (in any timeline)!

Also interesting, bc it means he definitely won’t be around in any way in 2019. Not even as a baby.

Oh, hey, Sworz. I... Honestly almost forgot about you. Sorry!

This preview is trying to make me think the boys are competing, and I refuse to accept it until proven.

Or if it is, maybe it’s friendly. Or maybe it’s just ‘let’s both fight this thing, and, I dunno, one of us can take it down.’

My guess is Sworz is talking to Shiro Woz, but my knee-jerk reaction was ‘no, I don’t want to play a game w/ you.’

That’s all, folks! Virtual pond cake for anyone who read all that.

Anyway, I’m sorry I had such a reaction to that one line (well, two, kinda) of Tsukuyomi’s. It reminded me of a bad experience I had once and just really got on my nerves. I promise I still love her, and I know she does care about Geiz. I think some of her reaction to the Zi-O II power may have been bc of (well, I at least presume he was) her father? Bc remember, Puma Zi-O used the time powers to vaporise everyone, and he pushed her into the trench to protect her? So this may be her being like ‘I want to believe in him, but that’s the power that I literally watched kill my father, so now I’m freaking out.’ Also, it’s a beloved style of cliffhanger for any sort of tv show to make things sound more threatening than they really are. I dunno if Toei even remembers that (WHO IN TIME IS GOGGLES THE DEAD PERSON?), but that’s my initial thought.

Geiz looks super unsure, though? Like I think a line was crossed w/ Tsukuyomi now, but the line started crossed w/ Geiz. And I feel like it’s been getting... Uncrossed? Like, he started this so certain of what he needed to do and what was going to happen (I still think his plan was to go back, do it as quickly as possible, then get out before he had a chance to think about the fact that 2018 Sougo was still technically innocent, bc he knew he’d be too conflicted if he did), but he’s been steadily becoming less convinced of it? So, like, even now, he’s the one who’s still thinking they can still change things? Oh, well. We’ll see.

Special treat for anyone who actually read all this way (or just skipped to the bottom; in that case don’t read any further! No JK, you’re fine, I ramble a lot, I’m sorry), is a random concept/theory I had: What if Sougo’s recurring dreams when time is ‘altered’ (Shinobi, and now Kikaider no I will not stop) indicate that he’s somehow... Super connected to time? Like... If it were electricity, he’d be a conductor, or something? But then, like, Geiz and Tsukuyomi aren’t like that, but they’re like... ‘Anchors.’ Like, there are people who are sensitive to time, and kind of ‘flow’ w/ it, but then there anchors who keep them/it moored/grounded or something? Feel like this was a thing in Den-O, but I don’t remember the details. But, like the reason Sougo is able to get all these ‘time powers’ is bc he’s so sensitive to it? But it also means that it’s really easy for him to get... I dunno, absorbed by the time flow? And, like, Anchors can’t get all the wild powers, but they also are either impossible or significantly more resilient to the time flow? So, like... The wouldn’t get erased/absorbed (at least, not right away/as fast) if they like... Fell into the time stream? Augh! I’m bad at explaining. Point is, Sougo nearly gets absorbed into time stream, but the other two pull him back bc they’re anchors and they ground him in a particular time/location/time plane.

I don’t think that made any sense.